Rage in the Left Lane

There is nothing more frustrating than to be behind someone driving slower than I want to drive – especially when they are well below the speed limit and in the left-lane. “Why!? Why?” I ask myself, does this idiot think he can block this lane. I’d like to take a few moments to explore this issue.

Last week, as I headed North on I-5, while on my way home from work, I came upon a car driving about 5 mph slower than the posted 60 mph in the left-lane. There were about 5 cars ahead of me, and one-by-one, each of these five cars pulled up behind the slow car, tailgated it for awhile, then in frustration, passed it on the right.  I had been watching this for about 10 minutes when my turn came.  My plan was to just avoid the car entirely and without slowing down, I would simply pass it on the right.

Unfortunately, as my turn approached, we reached the place where I-205 and I-5 merge, just north of Vancouver.  Now, the right lanes were filled and I had no possibility to go around this jerk.  I flashed my lights a couple of times, but there was no indication the driver even knew what he was doing.  ”You idiot!” I thought!  Even in the darkness, I could tell the driver wasn’t looking in the mirror, trying to find a clear spot to pull over, or seemed even to have a clue that they were in the way.

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Access to EMS

Thirty years ago, prior to the advent of the 9-1-1 system, EMS was very different. If you needed an ambulance, it was a simple process of finding your phonebook, flipping to the yellow pages, looking up ambulance, and selecting one of the three or four listed.  If you’d lived in Portland for most of your life, usually you called Buck Ambulance on their seven-digit phone line.  (Buck had been around since 1918 and everyone knew about them.)  Your call would be answered by a couple of caffeine addicts who used to be ambulance ”drivers” back before the advent of the paramedic program.

The dispatcher answering your call was tough, savvy, knowledgeable, experienced, and a master at multi-tasking. If you had a life-threatening emergency, dispatch would get an ambulance rolling your direction within moments.  If it seemed like you needed an ambulance, but your need wasn’t life-threatening, these awesome dispatchers would send the ambulance without lights and sirens.  It was deemed safer for the public on the streets, safer for the paramedics, and much less stressful for the people requesting assistance.

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