Schneid Remarks 12/21/23

I am so thankful I don’t have to drive more than a couple of blocks to work every day after a Thursday morning trip to Mankato.

I have come to the conclusion the older I get the more I don’t really like to drive.

Night driving is becoming increasingly difficult. This was part of what made my Thursday early morning trip that much more frustrating.

I left the house at 6:30ish, which is 30 minutes or more behind my wife, who makes a trip to Mankato every day.

I know there are others who travel much farther and I don’t envy you at all.

So I pulled out onto Highway 60 behind five other vehicles.

First thought…someone is driving way to slow.

After about three miles I realized my suspicion was correct. The leader of this pack was not following the speed limit at all.

Not only was this individual not following the speed limit, this person was not following the white line on the right side of the road.

Speed was anywhere from 52 miles an hour to 59 miles an hour.

There was a constant lane shift to the right, narrowly missing the rumble strips near the ditch numerous times.

As you all know, Highway 60 is a very tough place to pass anyone, especially at a relatively safe rate of speed.

And at 6:45 a.m. I was astonished with the amount of traffic this highway actually has.

So needless to say, passing this person was not in the cards.

As we approached Elysian and started the slow down I thought about getting off the highway and head the remainder of the trip on the backroads.

But my stubbornness said I will be able to pass over the course of the next 10 miles.

Boy was I wrong.

By the time we got to the Greenland turnoff there were no less than 13 cars riding up my bumper and the bumper of others.

Every once in a while I would see lights sneeking out into the passing lane, only to have them return to the right lane when oncoming traffic ended their attempt to pass.

About now it was getting light enough that the oncoming traffic lights did not bother me, so I did have that driving problem recified.

But I still was travelling at a rate of 54 or so miles per hour until we arrived at Madison Lake.

And this individual made sure his/her rate of speed was well below the upcoming signs of 45 MPH and 30 MPH in Madison Lake. Must have gotten in trouble once while driving through.

Now I have about three or four miles left before we hit the 4-lane.

I have relegated to the fact I am not going to pass and it will be like the start of a Nascar race once we get there, with the 20+ cars still trailing the leader of the pack.

Of course the individual did not signal when heading on to the 4-lane of Highway 60.

I was still frustrated it took me 10 more minutes to travel this far than it should have, so I pulled up next to the driver of the “slow” vehicle.

I was greeted with a one finger salute. Not sure why, but shouldn’t I have been the one to salute this driver.

I pulled in front of the ve- hicle and as I did there was car after car passing me at what seemed like breakneck speeds, but they were proba- bly all close to the speed limit.

As I got to my location I took a deep breath and told myself I don’t think I will ever schedule a doctor’s appointment when the sun isn’t fully up.

As for the driver, I hope they got to where they were going. This individual was the epitome of what we call a Sunday driver, even though it was Thursday.