Thanks for those life-saving honks (Jan 26)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
I saw a lady stopped at the traffic light at Yosemite Avenue and I Street the other day, and she was putting on makeup using a mirror in the back of her visor. She also was talking. Since nobody else was in the car, and she was wearing one of those Star Trek earpieces, I assume she was talking with somebody on the phone.
Then, the light changed, but she didn’t drive ahead. She just stayed put, applying makeup and talking. Then, the driver behind her tapped his horn, and she drove ahead, but before doing so, she gave the driver behind her the universally recognized one-finger salute.
I can’t understand why she did that. I sometimes daydream at a stop sign, and have to be reminded by a driver behind me that I should get going, but I always respond with a friendly wave. I don’t mind being honked at when I’m in the wrong.
I am in the wrong a lot. I take a cup of coffee with me in the car in the mornings, and I used to sip it as I drove. That was idiotic. If I had had to stop suddenly, I would have had a lap full of hot coffee, and who knows where I would have steered my car while I was jerking around in my seat.
Sometimes I would eat a sandwich while driving, which is stupid and illegal.
Since taking a driving course (at the invitation of the state after getting a speeding ticket), I have been trying to change those habits. Now, I appreciate being honked at when I do something dumb.
That doesn’t make me a much better driver, or a better person, but it does help keep me from getting killed, or from killing somebody else.
Out on the road, we are all in it together. That lady (who probably won’t read this; she didn’t look like someone who reads much) should have been glad somebody cared enough to honk at her. It will help keep her and others safe.
