It's a War Zone Out There

It started one morning shortly after I moved to Lexington.  I was cruising through the park on my way to school, when I was honked out of my thoughts by a white Durango.  The driver revved up the motor, honked again, and swung angrily around me.  I checked my speed.  I had been driving a reasonable 25 miles per hour THROUGH A PARK.  I felt obliged to push the pedal to the metal and go 30 or 35.  Soon a Toyota Camry closed in on my back bumper.  Was I a nerdy driver?  And this park had speed bumps every quarter mile.  I noticed the city had installed really high super speed bumps right before and after the points where the walking trail crossed the road.  There must be a reason for this.  I settled down, pulled out my stubborn, “I’ll drive the way I want to drive” attitude and headed on down the road.

A few weeks later I found myself making a left hand turn at a busy intersection.  My view was blocked, so I waited.  Again with the honking!  Well, we made it through the intersection with a blue minivan attached to my rear bumper.  As we approached the next stop sign, my 8 year old son looked back and said, “Look mom.  He’s waving.”  Then that 65-ish year old man sped past us on the right.  He wasn’t waving.  He was giving us the finger.  I had to laugh at that one. 

I’ve spent time in many different cities across the country.  I’ve even done Friday afternoon rush hour on the New Jersey Turnpike during a heavy rainstorm.  I have never seen drivers like these in Lexington, KY.  I thought it was just me, but my doubts about the sanity of Lexington drivers has been validated many times by neighbors, co-workers, and visitors from other states.  Road rage is rampant here.  I’ve even seen drivers jump out in front of emergency vehicles, causing them to crash, just to get ahead of other drivers.  These people are lunatics.  If you are one of these lunatics, I offer advice to you.   (1) Leave 15 minutes earlier than you usually do.  (2) Don’t look at your watch.  You’ll get there when you get there, and if you leave early enough, you’ll get there on time.  (3)And for Christ sake, put on some soothing classical music to calm you while you drive!  I like Chopin’s nocturnes myself.  Who knows how many lives and limbs you’ll be saving just by following these simple rules.