Several times in my life I have been on the brink of death. I could literally claim myself being ‘a lucky bustard’ after such moments. Ordinary highways sometimes turned into extremely dangerous places due to inadequate drivers.
From what point of time driving like a psycho became acceptable? Why am I perceived as a weirdo, while conforming the road rules? I know, at times the rules are overprotective. I also know that certain models of cars are more stable and, therefore, may be driven at greater speeds. However, there’s a basic road culture. If you intend to change your lane, please, use your rear lights to indicate the maneuver you are about to commit! For God’s sake, you may kill a motorcyclist! Playing checkers on a road is disgusting! It is not cool and far from impressive.
There is a tradition in Russia to outrun a car that moves slower than your own only to push the brake pedal right after. Thus, you show how you despise a tortoise on the wheels that is crawling behind. Unfortunately, you put the hind part of your car at risk. If a road accident happens, you not only jeopardize your bones, you create a heavy traffic as well. What’s the point of such actions? If you really need to be at some place soon, why stop yourself? Simply outrun the car that is in front of you and move on to your destination. Use a horn to express your dissatisfaction.
Quite recently, on the way to my country house my means of transportation has avoided an imminent collision with a ghost car in the night. The incident occurred in the rural area. The road wasn’t lit by any artificial lights. I reached the speed of 90 km/h, according to the display of my speedometer. All of a sudden, ahead of me I recognized features of… a car! Its body was black; its speed was no more than 20 km/h. No rear, or other lights, were switched on! The road had just two lanes: one for each direction. I pushed the brake pedal so hard that all my personal belongings, which had been located on the back seats, were swept away by an unforeseen jerk of the car. I swore.
…It was a late evening. My eyes beheld a landscape of a sublime beauty. Just a few things in the whole world could be more pleasing to do than cruising along the two-lane road at that very moment. I enjoyed the beauty of nature and ruminated about something important. On the side mirror of my car I witnessed an automobile, which was outrunning everyone on the contraflow lane of the road. Such action had been prohibited by the road marking and the road signs. The driver broke the rules on purpose. I was in the front of the line of obedient drivers, so when the wrong doer reached me, he cut me off, and, in a blink of a second, I saw his grin. I horned violently. He showed me his middle finger. My hands wanted to strangle him immediately. If I had had a gun, I would have shot him without hesitation. The black BMW of my offender turned into a tiny dot and then vanished. Soon I saw a café nearby and pulled over to replenish my energy…
The food was delicious and my spirit lifted. I sat behind the steering wheel, revved the engine, and continued my way… About 10 km later, I recognized the black BMW. It had collided with a small truck. Thousands of glass pieces were randomly scattered on the surface of the highway. The beacons of a police car and an ambulance illuminated the scene. The driver, who had shown me his middle finger an hour ago, lay on the stretches. The blood covered his face, which was perfectly still. I couldn’t say, whether he was dead or alive. I noticed the driver of the truck. Doctors carefully examined his arm as if it were broken…
Highway is not a racetrack. It’s just a matter of time when you eventually realize it…
