BUMPER CARZ

What was it? What was it about today that made people drive as if they were at a state fair and they were bouncing around in bumper cars for a dollar a pop? In the eight hours during which I was driving my truck at work today, I saw three accidents; two of them seemed severe.

Was it the glaring sun? It was glaring. Was it the fact that it was the first day of Spring, and a nice day at that? Were people daydreaming as they were driving? HEY! PAY ATTENTION! At least one accident looked like it had been a fatal accident. The cops had Telegraph Road, a four-lane north-to-south highway, shut down for three miles. As I drove past the accident scene, I counted one (1) fire truck, two (2) ambulances and four (4) police cruisers. I also saw what appeared to be one (1) tarp in the center of the road. I am hoping that it was not what it looked like.

Another accident took place in a well-to-do area of town called Bloomfield, where the median income is in the six figures and houses are tastefully set back from the two-lane winding roads. The dangerous winding roads. Where the wealthy seem to feel that they have the right to zoom along in their expensive A-to-B's. At the corner of Lone Pine and Franklin, I saw the flashing lights from afar and, as I passed the scene of the accident, I saw that the fire truck, the ambulance and the police car were parked in such a way--kind of a semi-circle--that prevented the snaking Crowd from getting a good look at the (perhaps?) carnage. I also noticed only one vehicle, a yellow SUV--perhaps a Yukon--sitting with one of its wheels up on the curb. As I drove past, I noticed the EMS technicians attending to a stretcher. Had it been, perhaps, a cyclist? Had it been, perhaps, a jogger, out to enjoy the mild temperatures and beneficial sunlight? I hoped not.

[This brings me to a tangential point: Why is it that people feel it is perfectly fine and dandy to walk-slash-run-slash-bicycle on a busy street? It is particularly bad in the wintertime, when snow is on the ground, making walking on sidewalks more difficult. I'll be driving my work van, at dusk, through a lightly-falling snow, and, at the last minute, my eyes will discern a pedestrian walking, against the flow of traffic, at the side of the street. And they'll be wearing dark-colored clothing. I.A. Idiot Alert. It'd be nice to have that much faith in our fellow man, wouldn't it? Come on, people! Uze ur bwane!]

The last accident, as I was turning onto the street that would take me back to headquarters, seemed to have been the most innocuous. If a scenario wherewithin two speeding vehicles, weighing more than a ton apiece, coming together in a splintering of glass and metal, can be called anything resembling innocuous. Just a couple of cars--a red Grand Prix and a white work van--seemed to have met at the center of the intersection. The white work van won.

This is an open plea to Cyberland: WEAR YOUR SEATBELT!!! THEY SAVE LIVES, DAMMIT!!! GETTING THROWN CLEAR FROM A CRASH AND WALKING AWAY UNHURT IS NOT A PLAUSIBLE THEORY!!! NOR IS OPINING THAT BY NOT WEARING A SEATBELT, ONE STANDS A BETTER CHANCE OF NOT GETTING CRUSHED BY THE ENGINE BLOCK!!! HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN???!

Okay. I'm done. As you can see, I feel strongly about the advantages of seat belts. G'day!