Note: For a school staff to grow closer and develop a team mentality, sometimes it’s good to NOT shop talk. When we share frustrations, ideas, thoughts, dreams, ad infinitum, it lowers our stress immensely. Today I am sharing what irritates me.
I sometimes wonder why Tidewater Virginia (we’re on the seaboard by the Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic Ocean) drivers possess a license, for what I have witnessed in the last month is nothing less than terrifying. Terrifying, not only because I fear for my safety, but terrifying for how—shall I go out on a limb and say dumb—the driver behind the wheel can be. Mind you, we all make mistakes, but mistakes happen because of a momentary lapse of cognitive functioning. What I have witnessed is not just carelessness, but TOTAL lack of brain function. And, what is getting scarier, I am witnessing this EVERY time I am on the road. When I pull into my driveway at the end of the day, I rejoice for making it home safely!
Moreover, drivers are getting rude. Common courtesy is becoming a relic of the past. I’ve never been so tempted to buy a tank for my main mode of transportation.
Examples of what I am referring to, starting from this morning and working backwards in time:
a) The speed limit for the main street that goes by our subdivision is 25 MPH, and in the morning, I drive straight towards the sun rising, thus causing near blindness. I noticed the lady behind me was so close that I could not see most of her hood. To add insult, as she drove on my tail, she was reaching in the backseat, on the floor of the passenger side, and continued to get closer. I glared in my rear view mirror at her, locked eyes, and that made her get even closer.
b) Every morning, as I drive over the West Norfolk/Pinners Point bridge, and traffic is backed up for about a mile, drivers will pull around, go to the front of the line as it branches off towards the midtown tunnel, and cut in front of those who had waited their turns. As a result, I’ve learned to stay in the far right lane because this is common practice. If cars are merging in from West Norfolk road, I’ll leave a spot open for them, but the driver goes on to get as far ahead as possible.
c) While driving to Richmond on I-64 last week, I said to my wife, “Let’s see how many pass me” and set the cruise control at the speed limit, 65 MPH. For 90 minutes, every single car passed me. The next day we drove to Williamsburg. I stayed in the middle lane, and as I looked in the rear view mirror, a car was so close that I could see what was on the dashboard. The driver was on her cell phone, obviously irritated at someone. At the last moment, she cut over in the right lane, nearly causing the driver to wreck. Sad point? She had no idea that she did it.
d) The week before Christmas vacation, as I drove towards Pinners Point, a semi truck was tailgating so closely to me that the hood of the truck took up the full view of the back window. I was so scared that I started getting short of breath. Assuming that the truck driver would realize his error and pull back, he did not. I couldn’t pull over to the side on the bridge because the semi driver was weaving back and forth.
e) The driver who brought my daughter home for Christmas break, I hear, was driving 100 MPH on I-64. My daughter told me that it scared her. As a father, you can imagine my horror! Thankfully, a State Patrolman was nearby and clocked her going at a mere 80 MPH. What a blessing that ticket may be!
So, if you see me ahead of you some morning or afternoon, please be different and be polite, respectful, and let me get home alive!!!
