Road Rage!
Posted by Uhgii in cars, drunk driving, road rage
So I had just left work, and was literally less than a mile away. I was on a regular 2-lane road separated by two solid yellow lines. I was following another vehicle from a safe distance, and we were going about 10 over the speed limit (45 in a 35). In my rearview mirror, I see this other car approaching very quickly, and after a few moments I honestly thought I was going to be hit. He slams on his brakes, and begins tailgating me, sweving on the road as if to signal something to me (or just being terribly drunk). Suddenly, despite oncoming traffic up ahead in the other lane, he floors it and enters the other lane to my left, and rides alongside my car for a moment, then suddenly swerves in front of me, nearly hitting me and the vehicle in front of me. At this point, of course, both me and the vehicle in front of me began honking, and this is a great time to add that this other vehicle was a fucking AMBULANCE. So this guy nearly hits me and the ambulance, and then begins to tailgate the ambulance while I back off, since I'm fairly certain at this point that he's drunk or being chased by law enforcement.
This wasn't the end of it, of course. He then flies by the ambulance and into a turn lane up ahead at the intersection, and turns left at a red light onto a fairly busy road. At this point, I was just glad that I didn't need to turn left, too.
It baffles me that people can drive like this and get away with it, while I safely go through a yellow light a few months ago and get a ticket. This is a fun story, too: the officer had told me that the light had changed while I was in the intersection. Now, think about that. That's LEGAL. As long as I'm in the intersection, it's fine. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to turn left without an arrow! If you're stuck in the intersection, you need to wait until oncoming traffic ceases, which very well may be once the light turns red. At that point, you've "claimed" the intersection, and can proceed to finish your turn despite your light being red. I guess I had just never met a police officer that must've skipped his 5-hour. Conveniently, though, once I mentioned where I worked, he said he'd "give me a break," and reduced it to "no seatbelt."
People just piss me off. Especially people who think they're immortal upon entering a vehicle. No wonder car accidents are one of the top killers of Americans, and drunk driving is such a big issue. If people feel immortal while driving, and feel immortal while drinking, they'll feel doubly immortal drinking in a car.
