Seventeen years ago I was driving with my one year old over to a friend's house. I was stopped at a red light and across the street was a station wagon full of teen aged boys. The light turned green, I started into the intersection just as the wagon did a fast left hand turn, crossing right in front of me.
Not content to merely jump in front of me in an illegal left hand turn, two of the kids felt it necessary to lean out the car's windows and flip me off.
In a micro second it occurred to me that I could slam into the rear part of that car and bear no fault for the accident. There was no turn arrow giving them the right of way. I was a thirty year old mother with my toddler strapped into the back seat, they were a bunch of high schoolers. I had them beat on every level. I could hear myself saying "you know, officer, I may have been able to brake in time, if I hadn't been so shocked by the obscene gestures they were all making at me!"
But I also thought "Judy's waiting for me."
So I slammed on the brakes and let go of the fantasy of watching that young jerk explain to his mom what he'd done to her car and I thought how lucky he was that I was in a hurry.
By now, those boys have all grown up to be responsible adults who don't do such dumb-assed things.
Maybe not.
It happened to me again last week!
Only this time, it was a four way stop sign and the schmuck who sliced in front of me in an illegal left hand turn was clearly over thirty and old enough to know better. Now, I can understand being in a big fat hurry and turning left if the car going straight was taking too long, but this guy leaned on his horn, cut in front of me and flipped me off as if he had the right of way!
That's when I burst out laughing. Not because I thought what he did was funny, but because the thought that crossed my mind was "you have no idea how lucky you are that we're on our way to Josie's first fencing class and we can't be late!" I was even driving an ancient mini van that I could total with impunity!
I guess the bottom line is that it's a good thing that I'm always in a hurry.
Maybe not.
Twice now, I've had an opportunity to teach some idiot a lesson and I haven't had the time. These are the kind of drivers who side swipe cars and kill innocent people who never see them coming.
Someday I'll be retired and all those rude young men will find out they only get away with such behavior because we let them.
