As I drove to work, I found myself first in line at one of the numerous traffic signals along the route from my house to work.
I’d call them red lights, but I learned years ago from Anthony Robbins that that was just too negative. They could be green. They could be yellow. Or they could be red.
It was immaterial that they were usually red when I arrived.
The fact that I was first in line at traffic lights says that I probably drive too slowly. I need to work on that.
The lady next to me was drinking a specialty coffee from an overpriced drive-in frilly coffee/latte/cappuccino shop. And why does it need to be named after a northwestern city. Isn’t the city we live in good enough?
The guy to my right was munching on a biscuit from a local fast-food place; just your typical going to work stuff.
The light (eventually) turned green, but no one moved. I take that back, the ones moving were in the lane turning left IN FRONT of all of us.
I lurched forward a few feet into the coming traffic to communicate to the morons that they were turning on a red light. Apparently this was not covered in their Wal-Mart issued driver’s license course.
Now, I didn’t see their red light, but because mine was green and I generally trusted the engineers who designed the intersection, I would bet a large sum of stolen casino tokens that their light was indeed red.
Not a yellowish-red or pink.
BUT RED!
Red means stop; green means go.
Idiots.
Doesn’t anyone in (insert desired state here) know the basic rules of traffic 101?
Well, apparently not because this was not an isolated incident where a violator might have been on the way to a hospital for emergency surgery to reattach a severed leg (or torso). Nor was it a particularly pressing emergency to make it to Krispy Kreme while the flashing “hot now” light illuminated the sidewalk in front.
No.
These individuals were lamely going to work or school or to a casino. I don’t know – or care. Basic laws of human behavior were being trashed and run over by obliviots.
I really didn’t understand what their problem was.
Until yesterday.
MY gas needle reflected the urgency to pull into a refueling station on the way to work. To get there from where I was at the time, I had to make a left hand turn at a traffic signal.
It is only coincidental that this place has really good French vanilla cappuccino. And I HAD to have a cup on the way to work.
The turning signal – which was the shortest one I’d ever seen – slowly went from green to yellow. There were 4 cars in front of me who did not have the luxury of knowing the emergency situation I was in. The light turned a solid red after the second car passed through.
The driver in front of me was not about to stop – it was just yellow for heaven’s sake. I mean, why don’t these crazy engineers make enough time for everyone to get through?
I sashayed through in the midst of angry stares and a few rude hand jesters.
Sure it was red by that time, and cars were obviously just trying to scare me by pulling out. It didn’t bother me at all.
I had a legitimate reason for breaching the local traffic suggestions. And I am stretching that “going through” thing – it was practically still yellowish-greenish – it doesn’t matter. Secondly, and probably most important, the cappuccino lay just beyond the intersection and I needed it.
It is all clear to me now. I get it and completely understand why these fine citizens occasionally go through the red lights.
If it’s MY vehicle turning and the light rudely changes before I can clear the intersection – it’s OK.
Comments