The Glade 4.0

Do not leave a full car length between yourself and the vehicle in front of you, no matter what speed you are traveling (15 mph, 45, 120, etc.). It may be occasionally necessary to bump the vehicle in front of you to force them to close the gap between them and the next car up.

Cut off everybody. It's expected behavior, and I'm not sure it's not a part of Georgian mating rituals.

If you want to supplement your income, rent a flatbed and pick up the derelict and/or abandoned cars on the side of the road.

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I told you that Atlanta traffic sucked and was beyond words. You really have to experience it.

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I'm pretty sure this is true for most interstate highways, not just Atlanta.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Khross, I thought perhaps you were engaging somewhat in hyperbole. Everyone wants their metropolitan area to be the exemplar of something, whether good or bad. However, I have to admit that Atlanta traffic is worse than anywhere else I've driven.

And no, the derelict/abandoned vehicle count is observably higher in the Atlanta area.

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Atlanta is, in this regard, special. Like, short-bus special.



Edit: quoted the wrong thing.

I remember Atlanta being like this when I passed through once on the way to Ft. Benning (which is also rather short-bus special. They don't call Victory Drive, VD drive for nothing). It's nice to know some things never change.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I haven't had the opportunity to actually do the driving in Atlanta. I wonder how it compares to Chicago.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Glad I did not drive when I went on the 'college tour' a few years ago.

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Memento Vivere

I have local knowledge.
That sandbar was not there yesterday!

Ditto, mofo.

Rhyming.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Just saw this and had to agree, Atlanta is special. Like, probably the closest I'll ever come to NASCAR.

The bit about not leaving a car length open in front of you? Counter-intuitive, yes, but important to your safety. If you have less than a car-length open in front of you, people are less likely (although not entirely unlikely) to shoot the gap, leaving you suddenly in possession of only one or two feet between you and the nearest bumper, instead of a comfy 10-15 feet or so.

This kind of decision making is taking place at, I kid you not, typically well over the speed limit. I had days on the 285 interstate bypass ("the perimeter", to locals) where bumper to bumper traffic was traveling ~95mph.

Cutting people off is necessary, because you'd just circle the perimeter forever if you didn't. You'd never get a gap to get to the exit lane.

Two other things, mostly unrelated to driving...
Chick-Fil-A billboard advertisements are insults to the intelligence.
Taco Mac does not, disappointingly, have a namesake menu item.

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WTF ever, Chick-fil-a is awesome.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Their advertising campaign for their "Nu Spicee Chikin" is demonstrably not, unless pandering to the functionally illiterate is cause for mad props in your world.

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What, you expect the cows to be literate and speak the King's English?

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Had my first Chick-fil-a ever last week, and I must give it a thumbs up.
As a side note, the customer service was exceptional too. The order-taker patiently dealt with my family as we tried to make our decisions (two adults, a 2 year old and a 4 year old all never having been to the place before) - during lunch rush; then a lady came by and asked if we wanted re-fills and chatted a bit before leaving and coming back with balloons and hats for my kids. Since moving from CA it's been remarkable how the customer service has been far beyond to what we'd become accustomed, but this was a step above that. I had words with the manager to make sure that these types of things happen again, and again.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

I'll agree with Vindi here. A lot of places I've eaten, especially in Southern Cal, had a you're lucky we let you in the door attitude. They were always a once only stop, no food is that good I'll put up with that level of service twice.

Amusingly Vindi, the economic decline has caused an increase in what were already okay service levels in many of the places I've been in the last year. I mentioned to one manager that the service had improved greatly, She told me anyone caught behaving poorly to a customer, caught not giving at least competent service with a smile is fired on the spot, and she's only had to do that once before the rest of the staff believed her. Business is way down in the food industry all over and customers just don't put up with poor service anymore, and they sure don't tip for it. I'd imagine this is going on all over the place.

I had Chick-Fil-A at one of the airports last trip out east. It was decent, not spectacular, but definitely better than expected at a fast food fried chicken place.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

That's a good point Micheal. Prior to the move, I had noticed new faces at the tellers that seemed genuinely happy to be there i.e. have a job.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Bad adverts or not the food rocks. I miss it now and then. That and Sonic. Have to get one when i'm in the area they occupy.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

I really enjoyed Georgia Tech's campus. Also, it was nice to have 75 degree weather in late October, but it didn't stay warm like I expected through the December (cold as anywhere else).

The 75-85 connector can like my ***. I hate that thing.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

I've been in both.

Atlanta is third on my list, with 95 through NYC taking second... but in my opinion Chicago takes the cake as the worst driving experience. In the other two, at least you only have the occasional "OMG I'm going to die" experiences.

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And throwing in another vote for Sonic here. Chili cheese tots FTW.

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Never driven in Atlanta, but been in Chicago and NYC. I'd say that Chicago is a better driving experience than NYC. I-95 really isn't the worst part of NYC. It's driving through Manhattan that takes the cake. You better drive fast and hard and run through pedestrians or else you're getting beeped or slammed by another car. Chicago is tough to maneuver and involves a lot of close calls, but the drivers are just a little calmer, which stymies the panic a bit, unlike NYC.