Copernicus Called

The person in the red and white pick-up truck didn’t seem to care that I was driving in the lane and had the right of way. It was important that he, or she, got into traffic. So he, or she, pulled into my lane, causing me to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid a collision. Thankfully, there was no oncoming traffic, so no one was hurt. And clearly, the truck’s driver had more important things to do than follow driving laws or be concerned with others on the road. But wait. Copernicus called and left him (or her) a message.
Last week, I went to an event with two friends. On our way home, a car was parked on the side of the two-lane highway, with flashers on. My friend was driving and she pulled a little to the left, as per protocol. The car behind us chose to pass us (and the disabled car) completely, revving up to about 75 miles per hour and nearly sideswiping her. Because, I assume, it didn’t matter if there was a person outside the disabled car, or that three people inside our car were traumatized. But wait. Copernicus called and left him (or her) a message.
I’ve recently noticed a lot of drivers pulling out in front of me. I typically try to give the benefit of the doubt in my mind, like “oh, maybe he got called to an emergency,” or “his wife’s having a baby,” or “he has IBS.” But this has been happening so often and with so many different people that it’s getting more difficult to find plausible excuses for the ill-mannered (not to mention dangerous) driving behavior. It’s a good thing I typically drive about 5 mph lower than the speed limit, otherwise, I would have clobbered some of these fools.
This happened three times today on a routine trip to town to get dish soap. One guy pulled out so close I had to brake or I would have hit him. Behind me were how many cars? Oh, NONE. So he just couldn’t wait three more seconds to pull into traffic. But wait. Copernicus called and left him a message, too.
The more unnerving behavior is folks who turn across your lane in front of you. I’m sure they think they have plenty of time, but it’s pretty scary when you’re traveling the speed limit of 50 or 55 mph and someone pulls into your lane. Very often, they sort of cruise through, too, instead of putting the pedal to the floor. So they are not only putting your life at risk, but their own, and trusting that – unlike them – you are not on your phone, but paying attention to the road, so you can safely avoid a crash. Copernicus called them, too and left a message.
Our little town has a wonderful town square with a round-a-bout. A few years ago, very intelligent people removed the traffic lights on each corner of the square. Instead, they mounted signs for drivers with blinking yellow lights that say “watch for pedestrians; they have the right-of-way.” They later added signs for pedestrians that say “look both ways for traffic!” Those latter signs are a good thing, because many times a day, people in cars zip around that traffic circle like it’s the Daytona 500. You can stand on the corner holding a stroller, an elder’s walker, and/or several bags of groceries and if you watch carefully you’ll see drivers zoom by, looking neither left or right. But by golly, they are reaching their destination with alacrity! But wait. Copernicus called, and left them messages, too.
The message? It was the same for each of them:
You’re not the center of the universe.