It is the middle of summer (how is that possible?) and it is time for my annual rant about something that is driving me crazy.

Specifically, it is some of the crazy driving that is making me a little bit cranky.

I know, you thought it was the mosquitoes that were driving me crazy. And that is true. But the way some people drive is a close second.

Speed is the number one thing, and I have complained about it in the past, to little avail.

Everyone these days is in a hurry. They must always be late for something, and they have to speed to get there on time. Or, maybe they just like to drive fast and don’t care about speed limits or other vehicles in their way.

Just the other day I was about to enter one of Blue Earth’s three roundabouts, from the west, when a black pickup truck entered the roundabout from the south at a high-rate of speed.

I mean, he was moving right along. Went through the roundabout in 2 seconds flat.

I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that maybe he did not realize he was going to have to go through a roundabout, or maybe there was a medical emergency or his house was on fire and he had to get somewhere to save a life or put out the fire.

Every once in a while a vehicle will fly by my house at a very high rate of speed – and I live on Main Street. There are bikers and pedestrians all over the place, and you might have to stop for them once in a while, so slow down a little, for goodness sake.

That is the next thing. Stopping and letting someone cross in a crosswalk. Or even in the middle of the block where there is no crosswalk. Or even stopping and letting a car back out of a diagonal parking place. You know, that would be a nice thing to do, but many folks are in too big of a hurry to waste a few seconds.

I have written before how many, many people must believe that a red octagonal sign that says “STOP” on it actually means that you must slow down a little.

And that the yellow triangle sign that reads “Yield” means to give way to oncoming traffic.

It also means that you might have to come to a stop, if there is traffic coming. That is especially true at a roundabout. If there is traffic in the roundabout you need to actually come to a complete stop at the yield sign.

Nobody, it seems, wants to ever come to a complete stop when they are driving, at a yield sign, or stop sign, or red light.

Making turns is another thing that drives an old guy crazy. In the olden days we were taught to make a crisp 90 degree turn at an intersection.

Now days, drivers cross over an oncoming lane to get to the lane they are turning onto.

Here is an example that just happened the other day. I was driving west on Fairgrounds Road and came to a stop at the stop sign where it meets up with Main Street, right near the Blue Earth water tower.

Luckily I did, indeed, come to a complete stop, because another pickup truck was headed south on Main Street at a great rate of speed and turned – right in front of me – to go east on Fairgrounds Road. And he was going so fast he couldn’t make a sharp 90 degree turn.

I closed my eyes and waited for the crash. But somehow, he missed me…by not much.

I am sure he didn’t see me due to a lot of foliage on the northeast corner of that intersection.

As I sit at my desk writing this column, looking out my window onto Main Street, two cars just blazed by, engines roaring. I am glad I was not walking across the street to the Post Office right at that moment.

I guess I should acknowledge the fact that the loud motorcycles are not anywhere near as prolific as previous years.

So, once again, here is my plea. Slow down a little. Enjoy the drive. It is not supposed to be a race to see who can get from here to there the fastest.

Come to a full stop at stop signs, and at yield signs if needed. Let pedestrians have the right of way. And maybe let a car back out of a diagonal parking space while you wait for them.

Drive a little bit neighborly. Please.

In a couple of weeks we are headed to California to visit our son and his family. I am trying to prepare myself for the traffic. As bad as things might occasionally be here in Minnesota, it doesn’t hold a candle to the traffic in California.

That goes for both the amount of traffic and speed of the traffic. Everyone there thinks they are a race car driver at the Indy 500.

OK, that is enough old guy whining for this week. But seriously, buckle up, drive safe, slow down and keep an eye out for other cars, crazy drivers, pedestrians, bikers, motorcycles – and deer.