A Mini Masshole
There's little I hate more about driving around these parts than being cut off. It is the same kind of rudeness as someone cutting in a line of people. At least in a line of people, however, those in the line are more likely to speak up and shame the person into waiting like the rest of them. It's not as easy in a car. Even though we blow our horns, the cutting driver is more likely to gun it and power ahead rather than admit fault and yield to the rightful flow of traffic.This morning, for example, I came across a Mini driver who believed the best way to enter the rotary on Salem Street in Medford was at about 35 miles per hour with his foot pressing hard on the gas, rather than feathering the brake. What's more, he looked right at me coming around the rotary and judged that if he pressed harder on the accelerator he could beat me. And he was right. He sped past me as I gave a long horn blast.
I can be forgiving of someone who makes a simple mistake or misjudgment, but based on how the Mini driver behaved as he continued towards Medford Square on Salem Street. The road is a one-way street heading towards the intersection of several streets: High, Main, Forest and Riverside. It is four lanes wide and at any given time, there could be cars double-parked. And this guy just barreled down, changing lanes to try to find the fastest way through the square. It was evident he was a completely self-involved jerk as he crowded other drivers and even tailgated as he seemingly nudged his way through the intersection to head towards Mystic Ave.
It is times like these when I wish it had some kind of device to shame the driver the way people standing in a line can do to a cutter. Blowing my horn was ineffective, because at the time he cut me off, we were the only cars around. He didn't care if I blew the horn all the way to Timbuktu; he had beaten me. And if I followed him and continued to blow my horn, the other drivers sure would have thought that I was the jerk.
When I first thought about starting this blog, I had the idea of reporting people's license plates. But as the idea progressed, I thought better because chances were the driver wouldn't be reading my screeds, and if he or she did actually read this blog, I would only be inviting trouble. |
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