Texas: Yield & Merge
In just two days in the Texas Panhandle, I learned some important lessons about driving and maybe living, too. Texans clearly think of driving as a team sport, whereby people must cooperate and communicate. I base this analysis on their expectation that drivers can and will honor the intent of yield signs and merging. Let me explain.
I had the pleasure of staying overnight in Shamrock, Texas, a little town with big spirit and recognition as the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the movie Cars. At night, I was smitten by the gorgeous Art Deco facade of the U-Drop Inn (where Elvis ate!) and the iconic Tower Station, which was lionized in the movie. However, as I drove around in the morning, I was stunned by the town's reliance on yield signs. Yes, they use stop signs where tourists, like me, blunder through the bigger intersections. Where the real Texans live, where two roads meet in the neighborhoods, they use yield signs. Think about that; to yield means to give way, which is other-focused rather than self-focused. It is based on the premise that someone driving through the neighborhoods would be paying attention and aware of the goings-on. It is not draconian in requiring everyone to come to a complete stop and to obey the correct order of right of way (counter-clockwise where I am from). They soften the rules significantly, but one assumes they want to maintain safety and order. So, they must trust that everyone wants to look out for each other, which is not how it feels where I am from.
Later in the day, when I exited the highway, the off ramp dumped directly into a two-way side road running parallel to the highway, requiring the driver to cross the two-way road and merge with any traffic. I realized this as I was decelerating and figuring out which direction the gas station was, so I got lucky. If someone had been coming, it could have turned out badly. I am accustomed to an exit ramp that ends at a traffic light, very prescribed. Again, I like the Texan version, which boils down to the idea that drivers exiting the highway should mix into local traffic with awareness and caution. Entering someone else's town should involve a high degree of deference, after all.
Underlying these traffic rules are more salient expectations about how we should interact with the people around us. Instead of tight regulation, there seems to be a symbiotic connection between the people who make up the community. Indeed, yielding and merging seem like an excellent foundation for communal living.
I haven’t been in the Texas panhandle in years. I’m putting Shamrock on my destination list because Id love to see the Cars inspiration. As far as traffic patterns and rules go, I have a cynical attitude about Texas in general. Given the condition of much of the states infrastructure, I suspect the absence of lights at the end of exit ramps and the abundance of yield signs has more to do with/ budgets and the state’s failure to fund upgrades, but I hope you’re right in your analysis.
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