Road Oddities

Here in the Bay Area, there is a section of freeway (conveniently just outside my condo) that doesn't allow 18-wheelers and other large trucks. It's a stretch of probably about 10-15 miles.

Sometimes, especially right now with detours causing much confusion here in the Bay Area (an oil tanker truck exploded two Sunday's ago, causing an overpass to collapse in a much trafficked intersection of freeways), a big rig will find itself on this particular section of the freeway.

It's an amazing sight to see because this one lone truck, is usually surrounded by slowing cars, whose drivers slow down subconsciously. A general sense of "One of these things is not like the other" permeates the freeway and as each driver finally recognize what is causing this feeling, the cars peel away from the lone truck and resume normal speed.

I know when I first moved into this area, I wasn't aware of this law but the first time I saw a truck on this section of freeway, I got annoyed without realizing what was causing my annoyance.

Isn't it weird how your mind registers that something is askew but it takes you a while to figure out exactly what?