I’m the guy just trying to get somewhere. I don’t know if you’ve ever driven curvy two lane highways in California. I do once a year or so. It seems to be second nature to Californians, as they generally comply. It’s a much safer method, the awareness challenged notwithstanding, than white knuckle, hope and a prayer passing on some of those roads.
I've driven on Hwy 17 from San Jose to Santa Cruz a LOT over the years, and yes, that can be a white knuckle drive especially when heading back to the Bay Area going downhill after a weekend at the beach.
Otherwise, it was mostly I-680/I-580/Hwy 24 driving, with some I-5 thrown in. Those are mostly straight drives at 70 MPH.
My scariest drive was on Hwy 37 in the fog one evening when I was trying to pass someone in the temporary one-way passing lane in an under-powered Toyota Celica (1981 model) and a driver who sped up to not let me back in, and the lane was ending and oncoming traffic was approaching.
-PJ