Driving Mr. Crazy

Everyone who drives slower than me is an idiot, and everyone who drives faster than me is a jerk.
 –Me, and probably every other driver in Midland, Texas

Last week, while driving home after work, I encountered the following at consecutive intersections:

• A driver in a pickup turned left in front of me after the signal had turned green for me to go through the intersection. Having driven in Midland for decades, I anticipated that and had slowed. What I didn’t anticipate was the woman in the small sedan hugging his bumper and completely blocked from view who never came close to making a legal turn, and who glared at me for almost t-boning her.
• A few blocks later, I pulled up behind an overly (in my opinion) timid driver who stopped as soon as the light turned yellow, causing us both to have to wait for the city’s longest signal (an admittedly subjective assessment but after a day at the office, it’s entirely warranted, if you know what I mean).

So, let’s recap. Within the space of three minutes, I was angered by (1) a driver who ran a red light, and (B) a driver who refused to run a [almost-red] light. What’s wrong with this picture?

Ask anyone who regularly drives the streets of our fair city and they’ll tell you that the population of insane drivers has skyrocketed in direct proportion to the rig count. But, having said that, I’ve realized that my hypocritical attitude is not doing my mental state and blood pressure any favors…and it’s certainly not improving the driving habits of others.

I confess that I have many faults, but angry judgment of other drivers is one of the worst, and the preceding realization has brought that into focus. I’m now making a conscious effort to remain calm in the face of what I perceive (and, honestly, it’s a fair judgment) as inconsiderate, inattentive, and just plain bad driving. My wife will likely tell you that the effort is a work in progress with little discernible improvement, but I really am trying. As is the case with much in life, I can’t control my surroundings, but I can control my reaction to them.

Well, theoretically, anyway.