As I'm probably an oddity in this weather, a guy on a motorcycle, I tend to pay extra attention to the cars around me. In far too many cases, they don't expect motorcycles to be on the road, so they don't bother looking for them. With this extra attention, I've had time and cause to make a few observations about drivers.

The most apparent is that there are few real drivers on the road. Most of the people behind the wheels of their vehicles fall into one of two other categories, presented  below in order of population.

The biggest number of people behind the wheel of their vehicle aren't driving, they're sitting in their car as it screams down the road. They're maybe "zoned out" staring at the road and surroundings, or they're paying attention to something else in the car like people, radios, or phones. Whatever the distraction, these people aren't driving beyond the minimal physical effort necessary to hold the wheel and step on the gas. They merge, usually without signaling, certainly without more than a casual glance, if they bother to even make that effort. I'm convinced that the whole reason that they make it to their destinations is because of pure dumb luck or the attention paid by the others on the road.

Thankfully the next largest group of people in vehicles are driving. They vary widely in skill, but at least they're paying attention. Sometimes still to the detriment of driving in a crowd, but still they're driving. These people also notice the coasters, and give them their space, and are also plagued by the next group, simply for being there.

The remainder of people behind the wheel are the racers or daredevils. These smug idiots have some place to go and no time to waste getting there. They tailgate and pass at the absolute earliest convenience, often missing by the thickness of a coin; a miss is still a miss, I guess. These roadway participants are particularly thrilled by the presence of a motorcycle, as indicated by their need to prove their mad skills by blowing past, somtimes in the same lane, often squeezing in the space between the cycle and the car it's behind. Usually they last in that position just long enough for you to know they're faster than you and they're bored and zip around that car, too. These schmucks, far too often in cars that would be condemned if they were inspected, do the same when I'm in the Jeep, too, although I attribute that less to proving their speed and more to their lack of ability to see over or through the bigger vehicle. Never mind it's probably because they're too close to see anything but my spare tire hovering over their hood.

I know I, and probably everyone, have had moments in all three groups. I'll "daredevil" ahead of traffic on my motorcycle. I've probably zoned out to the road, too, 'though I'd like to think not in traffic, and certainly not on two wheels. Perhaps I'm just getting to that age where I realize that, short of a medical emergency, there's not anything to race for, and there's plenty to lose just by not paying attention.