Friday, October 16, 2009

An Endangered Species


chevy at a light
Originally uploaded by daveterry.

Everyday another endangered animal is added to the endangered species list. Well, today, I'd like to add another one:

The Good Driver

I haven't been able to find a good driver in their natural habitat for some time. And I find that odd because unlike other endangered species, their habitat is growing larger everyday. It's not like they are running out of highways and roads to drive on.

Still, good drivers are really hard to find.

At 6:30 a.m. I passed a commuter doing 35 in a 55 mph zone. As I passed him I noticed that he had earbuds connected to his handheld device, was bent forward engrossed in adjusting his GPS, and his interior light was on. He was busy doing everything except driving. It's my conviction that he thought he had already arrived at the office and just forgot that his foot was still pressing the accelerator in his car.

Last month I saw a guy do a u-turn at a red light in front of our four lanes of traffic. Our light had just turned green. He was driving one of those low-slung modified Hondas with the the cigar muffler. He gunned it at the turn but the torque was so great it sheered off his lug nuts and spun the tire off the rim. The back driver's side frame hit the pavement and his car stopped in an instant. The loose tire spun out past him and joined our approaching traffic. He looked a little disappointed as he sat watching our cars navigate around him.

Yesterday I saw another guy eating a sandwich out of his lap while driving past me. He was pressing out the sandwich wrapper across his knees and up under the steering wheel while negotiating a turn through a yellow light next to me.

This morning, as I pulled up toward a Mc Donald's drive-thru, another driver pulled in front of me. They had come through the Exit Only access, did a three-point turn, and then pulled up to drive-thru. They actually had to back up to make the turn to avoid hitting the drive up squawkbox.

What is wrong with these people? Hungry, I guess. Hungry, scavenging animals do crazy things.

We need more good drivers, there are so few of us left. We are a dying breed. I feel so all alone. But I guess endangered species naturally feel lonely.

...dave
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. - Mario Andretti
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2 comments:

daveterry said...

Finally got the comments working. For some reason the setting "inline comments" on blogspot doesn't work so I set it for "another window" comments. Anyway, feel free to comment as you like.
...dave

Papa Joe said...

What's more dangerous than a bad driver? A bad driver with manners. Like the one that waved me to go first at an intersection and then decided to go herself just as I started in.