Bad Drivers

It seems like on some days drivers drive worse than on other days. Case in point: yesterday.

On more occasions than usual, I had to stop, slow down, or veer to avoid getting creamed or clipped by somebody in a car who was in too much of a hurry, wasn’t paying attention, or maybe just didn’t care. (It’s not like this never happens nor that it causes me any overwhelming grief, it’s just that the prevalence factor was a higher than is typical.)

So, for instance, as Mimi and I headed to school on the tandem, just as we were about to enter into a crosswalk, some lady in a late model sedan roared up and turned right, right in front of us, without stopping; fortunately, we were able to.

Later, on my way home, just me on the two-seater bike, a guy in a white child-snatcher van jumped the light and busted left across the intersection in front of me as the light turned green, forcing me to pull up short and drop my feet down.

On my way to school, as I crossed a residential intersection in Montlake, some dame in a Volvo station wagon made a slow left turn right almost into me. “Helloooo!” I yelled, loud enough to distract her from her cell phone conversation and save my life.

Maybe the prevalence of bad driving was due to it being the first Monday of June; perhaps with summer coming on, people have their minds elsewhere. Or perhaps it was something astrological. Lots of planets in Gemini; probably folks are of two minds about things; even though they’re in their vehicles, their thoughts are elsewhere.

Or it could just be coincidence: it just turned out that I just happened to be where bad drivers were driving badly.

The one thing, of course, I’m sure of is that it had nothing to do with my cycling skills; no, I never ride poorly, especially on Mondays.