She came past me at a dizzying pace. As I waited at the intersection for the red light to change she suddenly appeared. With her phone in her right hand she attempted to make her left turn, missing me by inches. The law says no, you can't do that. She thought, otherwise.
It is amazing how important everything seems to be - in the car. A crisis every moment, attached to every conceivable aspect of our lives. Remember this. If we can access our bedroom, fridge, house, doorbell, safety deposit box, financial records with the click of our finger, then so can they. Ease of use does have a down side.
Recently, as I drove the posted speed along the newly designed road, suddenly I was faced with yet another traffic misdirection. The driver had stopped, began to turn into traffic and moved into the lane where I happened to be. A quick turn on my part had avoided yet another near miss.
Are we being distracted, while driving, by the collection of high tech gadgets on the dashboard, designed to help us get from A to B? Are we forgetting, momentarily, where we are sitting? It is not the living room, coffee shop or grocery line check-up. It is front and center in the driver's seat of a movable weapon called a car. Stop the smiling. It's not funny.
There is nothing to smile about when
driving. The job you are performing is serious. One wrong move can
injure or kill another human being. Even sitting in the driveway
in the car, waiting to go, can be dangerous. Do we know where the
grandchildren or the family dogs are? Are we counting? On a leash or
not? There needs to be serious counting protocols in place at all times. ... Then there is the realization that we
have missed our exit. This does not give us license to correct the
mistake with that all time favourite: the U-turn.There are fatal consequences to short cuts. Let us never forget.
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