You=Fast, Me=Furious.

As NASCAR has risen in popularity, I've noticed an unfortunate trend on our nation's highways. It seems that, regardless of how much traffic there is on the highway at any given time, many people now seem as if they're constantly trying to speed ahead, get past each other, and cut each other off.

"If you're trying to get over into another lane, FORGET ABOUT IT! Your turn signal means nothing to me, 'cuz I'm gonna WIN THIS RACE!"

I've actually had people angrily honk their horn at me for only going 10 miles/hour over the speed limit, while others shake their fist at me for stopping at a red light (as opposed to running straight through it).

As if this weren't bad enough, I've also noticed an increase in the number of people who are taking crappy little compact cars (like, for example, my trusty Honda Civic), and "fixing them up" to look like race cars. How many times do you have to put the word TOYOTA on your car before everyone gets the point? It appears on the front windshield, on the back window, on both side doors, on the spoiler (like a Toyota Corrola really even needs a spoiler), etc., etc. It just seems a little....over the top for my taste.

Granted, I live right outside of Charlotte, North Carolina (future home of the NASCAR hall of fame!), so the streets that I drive on might be more prone to this trend than other parts of the country. Given that fact, I just have to know, "exactly HOW fast and HOW furious does one need to be on a two lane highway during rush hour traffic?" You wanna race? Fine...go to the race track. You wanna get home without getting killed? Then try cooperating a little more on the highway. I'm getting sick and tired of getting stuck in traffic jams everyday just because some guy with "mad skills" has decided to cut someone off in traffic, causing a three-car pile up and massive delays.

Believe it or not, real life is actually different from what you see on T.V. Let that sink in. I like the idea of a good car race as much as the next guy; just keep it on the track. After all, we can't all be Speed Racer, can we?