Between a rock and a hard place.

[Antisocial_Worker]

A short quiz!

You're driving down a five-lane road en route to the most delicious Mexican food in this part of the state. Ahead of you, in the two lanes that will ultimately deliver you to chili relleno bliss are two cars.

In the left lane is a car driven by a very old man who is weaving. In addition, he is towing an open cart-like apparatus crammed with lawn equipment. With each swerve and bump in the road, a weedeater casually slung into the cart edges closer and closer toward tumbling out into the road.

In the right lane is a beater car whose left rear tire is so flat that it is causing the car to swerve with every lump, bump, hill, dip, pothole, crater, and stretch of shattered pavement that make driving in this city both a joy and a delight.

So, in other words, both lanes ahead of you are blocked with cars that seem bound and determined to be a hazard.

Which one do you follow in hopes of the other car eventually outpacing its neighbor and eventually allowing you to escape from behind the two of them?

[Salted Grump]

Neither. I'd pull off to the side of the road or the nearest exit as soon as I possibly can, while talling my passenger (if any) to call the police.

[Marmalady]

Neither. I'd pull off to the side of the road or the nearest exit as soon as I possibly can, while talling my passenger (if any) to call the police.

This ^^

There's a couple (at least) accidents just itching to happen there.

[sms001]

I choose right lane. But not for escape. Hopefully the (presumably) younger driver will go a bit faster, and I'll be paralleling VOM when he hits that really good bump and I'll be well positioned for "Hey, free weedeater in the middle of the road!"

[Antisocial_Worker]

The two cars had a rolling roadblock going for a stretch of about five miles and you could tell from the way the other cars, including mine, were keeping their distance. Then the old man with the weedeater got into the middle lane to turn, and suddenly it was a free-for-all as everybody else crowded into the left lane to pass the car with the flat tire.

Thankfully, the weedeater never actually fell out of the cart, although because the old man would have had to cross a railroad track after he turned where he did, that might have done it. I don't know. I had shrimp enchiladas to eat and couldn't be bothered.