And the consequences may be for other people. Allow me a little road rant, but it is relevant...
In Toronto, I saw a woman lose control of her bike in a stream of oncoming traffic when her wheel caught a street car track.
She was talking on her hand held cell phone at the time.
I passed a woman yesterday holding her cell phone in one hand while hanging her other hand with a cigarette out her driver's side window. She was driving 50 mph at 5 pm with no hands on the wheel.
In stopped highway traffic this weekend, cars were zooming past us in the right side shoulder one after the other. Racing smack into the blocked exit ahead where the car causing the traffic jam was laying entirely flipped over onto its roof.
And don't even try to drive the speed limit. About a year ago I got a ticket in a little town here for going too fast. Been years since I've gotten one and I didn't remember them being quite this expensive. I drive the speed limit now in town. I can't even tell you how mad people get at me. I was flipped off by a soccer mom in a van with kids recently and I was going 5 mph over the limit. I've been sworn at by men and women and had people ride my bumper so close it has made me feel unsafe. So, what do I do? Give in to all this pressure and hope I don't get another ticket? Obey the law? Just buy some Zantac and hope I don't get an ulcer? Flip them off right back? Slam on my brakes and cause an accident to teach them a lesson?
This is one of the consequences of not paying attention. If you were the only one to experience the effects of your actions, I probably would never write this article. But you aren't. None of us can guarantee that our actions won't harm someone else.
The world is violent out there and we each are capable of contributing to that when we don't slow down and look at ourselves. Soccer moms should not be flipping off other women riding Bugs on a small town street. No one likes being on the receiving end of that. I could "justify" acting in kind, especially near a big city where everyone drives like a nut. But where does that end?
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