Franktown Cafe

When we drive through Pleasant Valley I like to wile away the time not by cell phoning, eating or arranging my paperwork, but by contemplating the traffic. This goes along with my habit of always taking driving seriously ever since 1. I found out in high school I couldn’t get away with doing things with cars my friends could and 2. I got married and started a family.

Anyway, I usually set the cruise control to 60 as I think the speed limit plus ten is a reasonable amount when breaking the law. At that speed I shouldn’t be holding up too many people as 65 in a 50 is really blatantly speeding, right? Even those guys, who I figure are rushing to diffuse a bomb or deliver a baby, have that right so I try to stay out of the passing lane except when passing, which, is really rare as I only do 60. Plus, the economy needs those type A personalities to keep the economy going.
There seems to be a contingent of locals like us or just plain old fashioned law abiders who keep it a 60 or less, but most seem to go 60 plus. Especially those with California plates. My guess is they are unfamiliar with the area and figure since it looks like a freeway, sounds like a freeway and smells like a freeway- its a freeway.

Other speeders are pretty unlikely though. One day it was two black SUVs, one of which had the license plate NV-1. Another was a Lyon County police car, some tribal police cars, NDOT cars (although only about 50 percent go over 60), fire vehicles, all without emergency lights on. You would think they would be interested in setting good examples. But that is naive thinking, I guess. They are just employees like everyone else trying to get somewhere.

Type of vehicle seems to matter. Older cars driven by young people, company pickups and newer luxury cars and SUV’s seem to go fastest. Big company trucks, old pickup trucks and forgettable sedans the slowest. Maybe cars, like dogs, resemble their owners.
The funniest thing is at the bottom of Washoe Hill, going north and just entering Pleasant Valley, everyone slows way down to 50 and then speed up again to 60+ a quarter mile further up the road. Why? I would think the extra anxiety caused by driving 15+ over the limit would not be worth the trouble.

What do you think?