Like many Valley residents, I commute to work. It’s rather redundant if you ask me. I would prefer to walk, bike, or take a subway if I could. I never truly understood the morning commute thing or dealing with rush hour until I started my LVS internship during the summer of 2007. It was interesting becoming part of the 9-to-5 crew. Coming from Allentown, the easiest route is 78E to 33N and taking the Freemansburg Avenue exit right down to the office. Easy, right?

Wrong. That drive was a nightmare because just as I began that internship so did that construction on 78. Remember those lane shifts, barricades, and single-lane traffic patterns? Ugh. In an attempt to bypass congestion, I rerouted my travels, which led me down Seidersville Road and around Stabler Arena–quite scenic I must admit, especially with the warm morning sunshine beaming down (when it wasn’t raining, of course). I picked up 78E right in Hellertown.

After about a week of this I had already had enough. How was I ever to survive an entire summer of it? As you might have guessed, I adjusted. There was no other way around it.

Wednesday morning I was making my daily morning drive, which sort of spawned this blog, when I realized there are more horrible drivers than good ones. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve ever thought this. In fact, Lehigh Valley Style’s columnist Vince Rammuni has even written an entire column on this exact problem in our March 2008 issue so I know I’m not the only one who shares these sentiments.

First of all, in order to get to 78E from 309S, once must take the Center Valley turnaround (as I call it) making a left at the light and crossing over 309. There are signs that clearly mark which lanes go where yet drivers still can’t figure it out! It amazes me. The first left turning lane goes directly to two left-hand turning lanes at the light. Why do drivers insist on being in that turning lane when they want to go straight at the light? It clogs everything up! The middle lane at the turnaround (another turning lane) will take drivers to their respective straight lane at the light. Pay attention! Every morning there is at least one person that screws it all up.

That morning, I was traveling along 78 up the hill just passed the Hellertown exit when all of a sudden Mr. Joe Cool in his white BMW M3 comes racing up the right-hand lane. A slow-moving tractor-trailer was in front of him. Now I know very well what Mr. Joe Cool wanted to accomplish. He thought that by racing past everyone in the right lane he could quickly jet over to the left so he wouldn’t end up stuck behind the truck. He failed. It made me laugh, I’ll admit. His little racing stint got him nowhere but right back in the exact spot where he started. Smart. Mr. Joe Cool, I hope you’re reading this.

Here’s a new concept: Stop driving like a jerk. People are in too much of a hurry to get themselves killed. Mr. Joe Cool didn’t get any farther than I did and I wasn’t playing speed racer up and down 78. We ended up in the same place at the same time–Freemansburg Avenue. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. Hey, maybe I’ll see you on that road sometime!