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As is with every week, I just cannot wait to make that 20 mile trek through the last construction zone of my week. Normally it isn't too bad. But then again, I do not consider rush hour on the South Side of Atlanta to be bad either... Or New York? nope! I guess it is all of what you are accustomed too. Progressing at 20 mph in New York is considered to be good. 45mph is flying. But this construction zone, minutes from my plant, usually flows at or above the mandated 50 mph.

This week they had it shut down to one lane, and anywhere near Atlanta, one lane is never enough. There was an 8 mile back up which grew in proportion as rush hour loomed near. Thankfully I got through it before the evening stampede, but it still took me over an hour to get past the 1/4 mile closure.

Regardless of the fact that I may be an aggressive driver in other locales, such as NYC, I always abide by construction zone limits. I think I may be the only one doing 50 mph in Coweta County. I also will merge into the appropriate lane as soon as I know which lane is open. This usually means it takes longer to get through the zone, but it irritates me when folks run to the head of the line and cut into traffic at the last minute, especially Stupor Truckers !!

and the best part.... those Stupor Truckers....are usually the ones with slow trucks riding in the middle lane on open interstate. They will not respond to any radio chatter, acting oblivious, and usually claiming they had no idea that lane was closed. Regardless of the large orange signs that were posted for the previous 3 miles indicating such a closure...Once the zone opens up, they are back to impeding traffic in the middle lane. Hey, shouldn't literacy be mandatory for truckers?

but I digress.....

So where was I? Oh yeah.. Eight mile back-up, one hour delay, and a little trucking female who can do no wrong *smirk*.

I was already in the right lane (unobstructed) at the end of the line. Traffic was piling up, and I watched truck after truck jump to the left, to race to the head of the line. After about 20 minutes, guess what I did.... I jumped left, too. So out of characteristic for me, but then again, I had been following this guy for almost half an hour and I was starting to feel disoriented.

I have heard that once your body has been poisoned by exhaust fumes, it is highly susceptible to future reactions with only minimal exposure. I have been poisoned twice! Seriously exposed, and I do not mean just a raging headache. The first time, nearly ended with loss of life. The second time only resulted in severe disorientation. I was not about to chance it. So I dived left and proceeded to clear the offending six-wheeler. Rest assured, I merged back to the right almost immediately, thanks to another trucker understanding my predicament. And no one yelled at me :)