Tell Me - Is It Against the Law To Use Your Turn Signal?

 Originally Written Between 2013-2015

Norm and I just spent the last month in Puerto Rico and I can tell you that without exception, Norm was the ONLY – and I mean ONLY – driver in that entire little island that used his car signal.  Or stopped at a red light before turning right.  Or drove on the right side of the road instead of down the middle.  He did not “play chicken” with the other drivers.  If he missed an exit, he did not drive in reverse on the shoulder to get back to that same exit.  He did not point at other drivers with the middle finger of his hand.  He tried to take turns at a four-way stop, but soon figured out that the rule is “every man for himself.”  And, he was the only driver that never used the horn.  He is from Minnesota, after all!

 

Besides horrible drivers, do you know what else Puerto Rico has?  Pot holes!  Yes, pot holes.  And, we found every single one of them on Highway 3 between San Juan and Fajardo!  Their highway department (if they have one) obviously doesn’t try to fix them.  The car rental company took a picture of the underbelly of the car when we arrived.  I’m really curious as to what kind of damage turned up when they took a picture as we dropped off the car!  It will be interesting to see our final bill.

 

Norm and I worked pretty well as a team whenever we were in the car.  Norm did the driving while I was the official map reader.  We learned very quickly that “Salida” means exit.  All highway signs are in Spanish and are not translated into English for all the tourists.  My 10^th grade Spanish came back quickly and we had no trouble translating “este” into east and “oeste” into west.  

 

Things changed, however, when two of Norm’s sisters came to visit us for a week.  Norrine is the oldest of his siblings and Betsy is the youngest.  Betsy is very funny and the life of the party.  She talks.  Really talks.  A lot. Continuously.  She has an opinion even when she doesn’t know what she is talking about; i.e., where the airport is located even though she has never been to Puerto Rico before.

 

She recently took a six-week Spanish class and, therefore, knew a few words.  I won’t go into all the specifics; however, let’s just say that while Betsy knew her “este” from her “oeste,” she did not know the direction in which we were driving.  She talked over me (the official map reader) and insisted on telling Norm where to drive.

 

So, picture poor Norm in a car with three other women.  His wife is in the front seat.  In the back seat are his two sisters (one of whom is literally the “back-seat driver”).  All three are talking at once.  Finally, Norm yells, “Shut up Betsy.  I can only listen to one person at a time and that person is Mary.”  Well, let’s just say we didn’t hear anything from the back seat for quite some time.

 

It seems like a brother and a sister can revert to their childhood – even if they are in their ‘70’s!