In the past week, I’ve called my local police department twice to report reckless drivers in my hometown. These are not the first incidents I’ve called about, and I guarantee they will not be the last, but they were the most terrifying for me.
The first incident happened on my way to the gym last Monday morning. While making my way down a busy, fast-paced main road, some moron in a crappy sedan behind me began revving his engine at a stop light, clearly in a hurry. At the green, I made my way to the upcoming stoplight, which had already turned red, adhering to the 45 mile per hour speed limit. The sedan, which had tried (and failed) to get in front of me by switching lanes several times, was a ways behind. He did not like this very much, and decided that the law no longer applied to him.
In his delusional, self-indulgent state, the driver went into the protected left-turn lane and nearly hit two teenagers crossing the street in front of us as he blatantly and purposefully ran the red light, not even bothering to pump his brakes or honk his horn. I was in disbelief, utterly shocked that someone could so easily and without any hesitation put the lives of others in jeopardy for the sake of getting somewhere a couple minutes faster. I kept my eye on the sedan, and, lo and behold, wound up directly behind him at the next red light. I called* the non-emergency police phone number, read out the sedan’s plate, described the car and the driver, and, as he turned right into the post office, explained what happened and where he was last. I felt like I had played a small part in karmic justice that day.
For a couple of days, the drivers in my hometown were pretty normal, although I admit, I wasn’t exactly seeking out strange behavior. However, this past Thursday, I had another run-in with another moron in another small car.
This incident happened while I was on my way to visit two of the cutest babies I’ve ever met in my life, and I was heading northbound on Highway 505. As I was merging onto the highway, the cars in front of me were merging very slowly, so I drove into the far left lane (on a two-lane highway…) and sped up to the speed of traffic, about 65mph. I was going the speed limit when a grey Ford Focus pulled up behind me and immediately began tailgating me. But more than just a little bit of tailgating, he was, at the most, two feet from my car. I couldn’t see any part of the hood of his car in my rear-view mirror.
I stayed in the left lane because I was going faster than the traffic to my right and I wanted to get around them, but I wasn’t willing to go above the speed limit to do so. Once he was able and felt comfortable, the grey Focus swerved, not bothering with his blinker, around me, merged directly in front of me, and immediately brake-checked me. I pumped my brakes and tried to stay pretty far behind him. He slowed down to 60mph, seemingly in order to piss me off-- which makes no sense to me, considering he was the one who was in the hurry. It also sucked for him, as I had already dialed the non-emergency police number and, as he was now in front of me, I was able to read them off his plate number. They transferred me to CHP, and I told them how he had exited at a specific road, turned left, and merged back onto 505, now heading southbound.
For some reason, this incident was worse than the previous. This man was clearly unconcerned not only with the safety of others, but, more concerning, with his own safety. A common occurrence in my hometown is deer running across the street. I’ve had it happen on multiple occasions while traveling down this same stretch of 505, and had it happened that day, my lovely SUV would have had barely a scratch, while the driver of that Focus would be hospitalized if not deceased. He then had the nerve to brake-check me, when he was the one tailgating. I was terrified when he got off at the same exit as me, as I knew there were many residential areas and children playing on that road. I’m sure he thought I was following him, but I don’t particularly care.
The fact of the matter is, your reckless driving DOES affect others. Your high speeds, swerving between lanes, tailgating, running red lights, and even something so small as not using your blinker, could potentially put an end to someone’s life, including your own. A car is not a toy, and, in general, driving is not like Grand Theft Auto. The next time you are behind the wheel and you think about doing something dangerous, watch out for my big white SUV first, because even if your reckless maneuvering does not put an end to someone’s life, it will get you a hefty fine, all thanks to yours truly.
Side Note: Do not drink and drive. You should not have to be told this. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE.
*All calls made while driving were by use of hands-free bluetooth and On Star via my car itself. Do not use your phone while driving unless you have these or similar device capabilities.
