Lately, and by lately I mean in the last 1-2 years, I've been noticing a lot more crazy driving out on the roads. Just this morning alone, I was driving back from the store to my house - so 2.5 miles from my house, a mere 10 minute drive - when I witnessed all of the following:
- A car slowed down because it knew there was a cop checking speeds up ahead.
- The same car left turned at a red light after significantly missing it (as in it didn't barely turn red, it was a solid 1-2 seconds) because it didn't want to wait the 1 minute 30 second cycle in order for the next turn arrow to appear.
- While I was in the left turn lane waiting for my arrow, a car turned left on his green light when a car was going straight dangerously close and got honked at. With any difference in seconds, it could have been a collision happening right in front of my eyes.
I understand there are crazy drivers out there, but for me to witness the last two bullet points within 5 minutes of each other at the same intersection was a little beyond coincidence in my opinion.
This is not to say the countless number of other times I've witnessed crazy driving. We live next to a school in our neighborhood and the school zone lasts an additional 15 minutes after the elementary school starts school. It seems cars forget the school zone still exists during these 15 minutes because when I pull out to take my daughter to her school, numerous cars tailgate me and a few have even illegally passed me because I was "driving too slowly." It's infuriating. Lately, I've seen cops on the road during this time and I get a certain amount of satisfaction hoping these cars seemingly unaware of the school zone will get ticketed.
In November of last year, I was driving my daughter home from school and we were going down a road that gets fairly busy in the afternoon rush hour. The left turn lane had backed up pretty far. Three women on motorcycles were driving in front of me in the left lane. At the light, they swung over into the front of the left turn lane in front of the first car waiting. I was going straight so I kept driving, but I was left with a very bad feeling. I know motorcycles are small, but since when was it acceptable to cut off 10+ cars?
You think this is an isolated incident?
We were driving home one evening and were stopped at the same intersection mentioned in the very beginning waiting for our left turn. We were the first car stopped and a motorcycle was behind us. Before I knew it, the motorcycle went around our car and planted himself in front of our car in the left turn lane. 🤯
Both of these happened within months of each other.
I can't imagine I'm just "lucky" enough to witness all of these incidents and that this "isn't the average person." I've never been the lucky one. There's no way I'm getting lucky here and all of these people just happen to break the rules while I'm around. And this is where setting an example matters. I'm getting worked up just writing this post and thinking back on all the traffic violations I've witnessed which haven't been caught. The more of these incidents I see, the more I feel a part of the "good" inside me wanting to die. And it both breaks my heart and feels so cruel that I can't do it, because if I do, I become one of them. For whatever it's worth, that is the absolute last thing I'd ever want to do with my life.
Going back to the first scenario I witnessed just this morning. I was impressed all the cars around me within my visible line of sight did not get pulled over by the cop who was checking speeds. But as soon as I saw that car left turn on the red light because he/she was too impatient and selfish to wait for the next cycle, I lost any neutrality I felt. What good is following the rules if you only do it when you know you're being watched?
I don't know the person in the car personally. Could there have been other reasons I can't see because I don't know the person? Absolutely. But based on what I saw alone, these are the conclusions I'm drawing.
I don't believe following the rules in this life is worth it for ourselves. Because there is always someone out there breaking the rules who can get away with it. However, I do believe we must follow the rules in this life in order to receive something that is worth it in the long haul. What is the treasure that is truly worth it? Leaving a legacy of respect, honor, and one worth passing down. This isn't witnessed in day to day actions alone, but takes years of consistency to build.
That's hard.
I decided to read this! and I do have some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSome of the things you mentioned, I have always felt were true. E.g. people being impatient at school zones, people slowing down specifically due to cop cars being ahead/around (though in pre-app-warning times, it would show up in the form of slowing down at specific intersections known for cop waiting spaces), occasional people running red lights out of sheer impatience. I remember seeing this back when I was in Texas, and definitely saw no shortage in CA either, so these things have always seemed true to me, and in my experience, no more or less than before. For these kinds of things, it's not my experience that there has been more in the last couple years as much as has always been true.
For the motorcycle thing... I would wonder if they come from a different state. In Texas, it's illegal to lane split (ie pass cars in the same lane, esp when cars are stopped at a light), but I do know Texas has had a lot of transplants recently, and this is an explicitly allowed behavior in CA. (I'm not saying I love it, because I used to get pretty freaked out when a motorcycle lane split me because sometimes I'm about to change lanes when Surprise! a motorcycle comes from behind.) A lot of other states also allow forms of this that Texas doesn't, so I wonder if they aren't doing it in a specifically spiteful or selfish way as much as they're defaulting to a different set of laws? (Again, not defending, because they're still doing an illegal behavior in Texas, which is where they are now.)
The one I have seen more of that I'm sure is more recent is the one that you mention almost caused a collision. And not specifically this kind of turn, but I think I've seen a lot more people just... not paying attention. I don't think it has much to do with increased selfishness or decreased care for other humans-- I think it has to do with the huge increase of people I've seen looking at their phones _while_ driving. So many times I see a car going a little too slow or swinging back and forth in their lane or blowing lights, and then noticing that the driver is actively staring at their phone. The inattention scares me a lot and I will give those cars quite a bit of space... just in case. I've seen a huge increase of this with cars that are "smarter" specifically, because the driver is over relying on the car to tell it it's veering off the lane and not paying attention because TikTok or the next text message or whatever is more enticing.
I do think there's one other point that I have thoughts on, and that is your comment about following rules. I'm not saying that anyone in your specific scenario are breaking rules that ought to be broken, but I also think given what's been happening in today's world, some rules are clearly there for, let's say, bad or outdated reasons. Despite being a rule-follower (generally) myself, I don't feel strongly that following the rules or laws, on their own, is a sign of respect or honor or anything.
I would lean more towards that one should follow rules when they're for good reasons. Turning on or running a red light-- what if you JUST missed a car and it's a safety hazard? Using your phone while driving-- literally a hazard and accident waiting to happen with anyone around you, since all it takes is reacting one or two seconds too late to something. Ignoring school zones? Children aren't always going to be smart about crossing the street, and it's a good idea to slow down so you don't hit them when they cross erratically. For rules like these, I think it's good and reasonable to follow and try your best not to break even when it feels like an easy shortcut.
(Full disclosure, I am sometimes guilty of using my phone while driving, and I am trying to stop.)
Holy crap that got long.
ReplyDeleteTL;DR: (1) and (2) feel like have always been true.
(3) feels like a new inattention thing due to cell phones, rather than a specific "I don't care about rules" thing, which would be more frequently now than before.
(motorcycles) feels like a Texas transplant problem, which would also explain recency.
Hi Julia! Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I did not realize motorcycles are allowed to pass within a lane like that in other states. I can see how if they did not know TX has different rules, they wouldn't know. Thank you for enlightening me!
DeleteI definitely agree my post was definitely simplified and did not discuss a vast majority of factors which can cause these behaviors.
I can't say I'm a perfect driver and would never do these things either. But it feels like I notice it often in others, especially if I know I'm doing a good job myself of following the rules. And when I do it I know what is in my mindset. There was one time I was the car to left turn on a freshly changed red light in a hurry, but it was because I was driving my husband's manual car and I got scared if I stopped I wouldn't be able to get the car started again to go correctly. >.< so not a great excuse...but that was mine.
I will say I notice a lot more of this type of behavior during rush hour (maybe the observed motorcycle exception) and I get that in the mornings when people are rushing out the door to get to work, their tendencies are definitely more intense.