I live in a small community. In the summer months our population expands nearly as much as Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after she chews the ‘forbidden gum’. And while there may be moments that the locals become just as blue in the face, we generally keep our heads low and count the days until our town is returned to us in a reasonable facsimile of what it once was before the tourists descended.
(image credit: thelongthread.com)
In the midst of the chaos, our narrow, two-lane roads become inundated with a wide spectrum of driving abilities. The creative maneuvers in and out of parking spaces never cease to amaze me and, for me, defensive driving takes on a whole new meaning. My father knew what he was talking about when he taught me how to drive!
I have blogged in the past about how there is no cure for stupid. On Monday, after 12 hours of sleep and a relatively restful day, one particular driver not only proved the theory of stupidity but she helped me begin my journey out of my blogging funk. Her asinine driving antics immediately had me formulating sentences for this blog and, if I could track her down, I would thank her for her reckless abandon behind the wheel of her red BMW because it provided some much-needed blog fodder.
Each of us when learning to navigate the control of a motor vehicle are inevitably told to yield to oncoming traffic when entering a roadway. Common sense begs us to look both ways and only enter when it is safe to do so. After realizing she had no access to the side road on which she had found herself, the winner of this week’s bad driver award decided to pull into the lane in which I was driving approximately 85 kilometers per hour. Thankfully I had seen her easing out of the driveway and slowed my speed accordingly. Not only did I have to slow my vehicle to avoid hitting hers, I had to come to a complete stop in the middle of a highway while she made sure her door was properly shut and her seat-belt securely fastened.
Had it not been for the fact that I was in utter shock at her complete lack of sense, I would have written her license plate number down and nominated her for the TV reality series – Canada’s Worst Driver. I can only be glad the cars following me had the sense to slow down behind me and not decide to pass or she may have never had the chance to make it home that day.
Is it Labor Day yet?
polysyllabic profundities 
We have a few months of tourist season as well, and I know what you are talking about. We get drivers from other states that scare the crap out of me. The only downside to living in a beautiful state. They have no idea how to drive in the country, and I am sure they would say “You don’t know how to drive in the city” and they would be right – but we won’t talk about that! I used to work at the local grocery store and every summer we would dread the onslaught of out-of-staters coming in.
Agreed….I like to think, though, when I drive in the city I use a little more common sense than she did…haha!
I’ve found that drivers of expensive cars are particularly adept at bad driving. My theory is that wealth spawns a sense of entitlement. A “my car is better than yours, so you should let me pass.”
And, of course, they can afford more insurance!! 😉
Sadly, there are more of them than there are of us.
Since I’m learning to ride a motorcycle, I see that kind of behavior a lot more.
I can only hope you stay very safe on those two wheels of yours!!
I’m so glad you’re safe! I seriously wonder how these people survive (although they probably just kill others on the roads and not themselves). We get a lot of tourists here and I’ve also seen some complete clowns xxxx