I do not pretend to be the world's best driver, but in the 39 years that I have had a driver's license I can only think of one time when I did something foolhardy in the car....and my excuse for that is I was 16 years old. I have had a few fender benders but in every case (save one) they were clearly the fault of the other driver. I was rear ended once when a woman in front of me slammed on her brakes for a yard sale. I stopped on time, the gentleman behind me did not. I was in an accident once on I-84 in Hartford when a man came flying onto the interstate at a high rate of speed, lost control and then slid across 3 lanes of traffic in front of my car. A deer and I collided once, but that was the deer's fault too. He failed to look both ways before crossing the highway. There was one other accident in Massachusetts when a truck driver in front of me made a VERY wide right turn from the left lane as I was trying to make a right turn from the right lane. He peeled the front bumper off my car.
I've no idea how many miles I have driven in the last 39 years, but my current car has nearly 267,000 miles on it. An educated guess would put my lifetime mileage at about 800,000 miles. This is more impressive than it sounds when you realize I lived in the Boston area for 12 years, where I rode public transit most of the time and I have never had a commute to work that was more than 20 miles each way. Most of my commutes have been 5 miles or fewer.
And yet...
Every day when I get home I thank my lucky stars that I have made it one piece. Whether people are less competent drivers these days, more distracted, rushed, selfish or just plain oblivious, it's a dangerous place out there on the roads.
Today's exhibit A was a driver at the intersection of Main and Washington Streets in Middletown, CT. He wanted to make a left turn from Main onto Washington, but apparently got to the stop light too late to make the jump light. Rather than wait for the next light cycle, he inched his way just far enough into the intersection to force the left lane of oncoming traffic to stop for him. Unfortunately the right lane of oncoming traffic was not so obliging. So as I sat in the left lane with several other vehicles, the right lane of traffic kept flowing and we in the left lane were trapped by this imbecile. Minor inconvenience? Yes, but add it to all the other minor inconveniences caused by inconsiderate drivers you encounter in the course of a trip ANYWHERE and they begin to seem not so minor.
Lest you think I find each trip in my car a trial, let me state unequivocally that I like to drive. I have often thought that there might be a long distance truck driver lurking beneath my unassuming demeanor. I guess the problem is that these other people on the road do occasionally manage to diminish my pleasure in the open road. If I'm going to be annoyed by these people, better to call them on their behavior in this forum than succumb to road rage.
So watch out! If you do something stupid on the road, I'm going to let you know. It might be as simple as blocking a driveway I'm waiting to turn into when you see me sitting there with my blinker on, or as crazy as reading a book while in rush hour traffic (Don't laugh! I actually saw this is suburban Virginia a couple of years ago). The road is not your own personal property. You need to be respectful, alert and generous about sharing it with other drivers. If you're not, you may see your make, model and plate number here. Drive like I'm watching, because I will be!
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