autoMOWbiles

Recently, I have come to question my driving skills, but not through any fault of my own. I have always considered myself a cautious driver. I never make a turn unless the coast is completely clear...even if it means waiting ten minutes until there are no cars in sight. I always follow traffic signals (minus the one time I ran a red light due to a torrential downpour which inhibited any viewing of any traffic signals. As I was the only one on the road, it was a perfectly acceptable running of the light). And I ALWAYS yield to pedestrians. I have always been under the impression that these things were part of the driver's code of conduct. I did very well in driver's education and I passed the exam with flying colors. In fact, I can still remember all of the rules by heart. However, as of late I have come to question my understanding of the rules. At least three times in the past month I have been honked at for not turning left at a red light.

The first time it happened, my feelings were severely hurt. I had already had a rough day, as I had suffered through a particularly difficult flower delivery, and it was not my fault I was the first in line at the light. Nor was it my fault that it was rush hour and this particular stop light happened to be red for nearly ten minutes. When I heard that harsh, condescending honk, tears welled in my eyes and it was all I could do to not get out of the car and reprimand the person behind me for being so inconsiderate. Besides, I was abiding by the traffic laws: no left turns on a red light. I went home that night, wondering what I had possibly done to offend the person so? I was only following the rules.

The second time it happened I was once again first in line at the red light, trying to make a left turn so I could get to the campus library on time. When I heard the loud ruckus coming from the car behind me, I looked around, puzzled. What on earth could there be to honk at? There were no other cars in sight. Then it registered, the bastards were honking at ME because I was sitting patiently, waiting for the light to change. Once the light changed, I made my way to campus, mulling the event over in my mind. Was I simply ALWAYS driving in front of angry drivers? Or did I have my traffic rules mixed up? Was it in fact no right turns on red, only left?

The third incident happened two days ago. After a long day at school and work, I was required to take two flower deliveries after my shift got off. Already depressed due to the amount of reading I had in store for the evening, I pulled up to the traffic lights, and prepared to take a left turn so I could search out the house receiving the delivery. And then I heard it, the obnoxious horn that seems to follow me everywhere. I was shocked and bewildered. This third incident confirmed my doubts about my own driving. I mean, once you find you are in the same position three times, something has to be wrong, right? Or maybe not.

After having spent considerable amounts of time mulling over these confusing events in my mind I have come up with two possible solutions:

a. that my driving is horrendous and I should not be on the streets (which is doubtful)

b. I am surrounded by lunatics who have no patience, cannot follow rules and who more than likely were only in a hurry to be home in time to watch their favorite reality tv show.

I view the latter as the more correct of the two.

In summation,

my recent experiences as a harassed occupant of the roads have confirmed my suspicions that not enough right-winged, capitalism-loving, nonsensical lunatics have had their licenses revoked.

--jamie