I’m stopped at a stop light, vaguely aware of a large MPV in the lane to my left but he is stopped at least halfway down the length of my MINI. I use this light all the time from work and it is notoriously slow to change. The change to green catches me by surprise. The X5 accelerates a little past me while I get my usual slow start in first. By the time I am in second our front bumpers are level. Just as I go to shift into third (yes, I shift gears too early, hard habit to break) I can sense the X5 wants over. There’s a right turn into a small strip mall which he wants and he’s pissed that I beat him to it. He breaks hard, pulls over to turn, flashes his lights, beeps his horn etc etc.
Now, this turn can be no more than 2000 feet from the stop light. What person in any kind of right mind thinks they will get to the turn in an X5 before me with time to change lanes? The MINI has been around long enough for people to know that its not a slouch, so why did this idiot think he could get there fast enough?
I swear that every day of driving here makes me wish I lived somewhere else.