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I almost saw an idiot die
Dec. 28th, 2004 01:00 amSo I pull onto Aurora Avenue going South this morning, on my way to work. I've barely driven two blocks when some idiot in a white bronco (well, some sort of white sports utility vehicle) comes barrelling up behind me and then swerves over into the right lane.
Now, there are two lanes on Aurora and I'm in the right lane. So what the idiot in the white bronco was really doing was trying to pass me on the right, using the parking lane. Never mind that I was barely more than a car length behind the car in front of me, and that he only had half a block before he ran into some parked cars. But I don't tolerate idiots lightly so I sped up a little just to make it absolutely clear that he had nowhere to go and no room to cut in front of me.
The guy slammed on his brakes, then swerved to the left, across two lanes just behind me and into the left lane. However, there was another car in the central turn lane who was just begining to slide over into the left lane. The white bronco barely missed side-swiping this car, but after slamming on his brakes again he sped up and, a block or so further, swerved back across two lanes and into the right lane again. Mind you, this was at a point where the right lane actually becomes a third lane for about six blocks, where it's illegal to park there so at least this time he was able to travel in that lane.
I sort of assumed that now that he was in front of me, the white bronco would take off and soon disappear. But for some reason just past 85th he merged back in with the other traffic and got himself stuck behind a very slow car. I passed him and the other cars and was soon moving at a good clip down Aurora, and I lost sight of him in my rear view mirror.
I drove through the part of Aurora that passes the Woodland Park Zoo. This area has parks on both sides, and so there's a long stretch where there's nothing but trees on either side of the road and no place for any cars to turn on or off. It's pretty common for cars to pass through this area at a good clip -- the speed limit is only 40, but I routinely do 50 through there. There are three lanes again in this stretch so it's also a place to move around slower cars.
This is also an area where there is no cement divider between the North and Southbound lanes of Aurora, but the divider appears again just at the South end of this stretch, and the road again narrows to two lanes.
Anyway I was following the car in front of me, with empty road behind me, and as I got to the end of this section of road I saw that white bronco once again in my rear view mirror. He was a LONG ways behind me, but closing incredibly fast. I was probably doing 50, so my conservative guess is that he was doing at least 75, and probably closer to 90.
"Here comes the idiot again," I thought. I was expecting him to catch me in a matter of seconds and swerve around me using the right lane, which was just fine by me. With people like that you just let them pass and hope they don't do something stupid while they're near you. And I had a car in front of me, so it seemed best to stay where I was and leave the right lane open for the idiot.
And then another idiot entered the picture. There's a road right at the end of the "zoo corridor", right at 50th, where you can turn onto Aurora. As I watched the bronco in my rear view mirror, another car pull out from 50th and across both lanes of traffic, pulling RIGHT in front of the bronco, which, as I said, was moving like a bat out of hell.
I thought I was going to witness a massive collision right then and there, but the next thing that happened surprised me even more. The bronco swerved left... into the oncoming Northbound lanes. He managed to avoid the car that had pulled out in front of him, and managed to avoid the concrete barrier which again divided the Northbound from the Southbound lanes right at that point, but he was now on the wrong side of the divider, heading at oncoming traffic.
I now thought I was going to witness a head-on collision. Instead the bronco swerved to the left, across three lanes of traffic. I saw at least two cars slam on their brakes, one sending up a cloud of smoke from their tires. Again the bronco avoided hitting anyone and drove straight into the yard of a house or apartment complex, managing to swerve again so it came to rest facing South, instead of flying into a building.
That was the last I saw of it... and to be honest I'm pretty lucky I didn't have an accident myself, with my eyes glued to the rear-view mirror like that. I didn't even see what happened to the car that had cut in front of him. I'd like to think that the bronco driver was not only spooked by his near-disaster, but that he maybe realized that he'd been driving like a complete idiot and was asking for something like this to happen. But more likely he blamed the driver that pulled in front of him for everything. And while I was very glad that he had managed to avoid hitting anyone, in my heart I like to think that he at least did a little damage to his SUV.
But if he didn't, I have no doubt that soon he will.
Now, there are two lanes on Aurora and I'm in the right lane. So what the idiot in the white bronco was really doing was trying to pass me on the right, using the parking lane. Never mind that I was barely more than a car length behind the car in front of me, and that he only had half a block before he ran into some parked cars. But I don't tolerate idiots lightly so I sped up a little just to make it absolutely clear that he had nowhere to go and no room to cut in front of me.
The guy slammed on his brakes, then swerved to the left, across two lanes just behind me and into the left lane. However, there was another car in the central turn lane who was just begining to slide over into the left lane. The white bronco barely missed side-swiping this car, but after slamming on his brakes again he sped up and, a block or so further, swerved back across two lanes and into the right lane again. Mind you, this was at a point where the right lane actually becomes a third lane for about six blocks, where it's illegal to park there so at least this time he was able to travel in that lane.
I sort of assumed that now that he was in front of me, the white bronco would take off and soon disappear. But for some reason just past 85th he merged back in with the other traffic and got himself stuck behind a very slow car. I passed him and the other cars and was soon moving at a good clip down Aurora, and I lost sight of him in my rear view mirror.
I drove through the part of Aurora that passes the Woodland Park Zoo. This area has parks on both sides, and so there's a long stretch where there's nothing but trees on either side of the road and no place for any cars to turn on or off. It's pretty common for cars to pass through this area at a good clip -- the speed limit is only 40, but I routinely do 50 through there. There are three lanes again in this stretch so it's also a place to move around slower cars.
This is also an area where there is no cement divider between the North and Southbound lanes of Aurora, but the divider appears again just at the South end of this stretch, and the road again narrows to two lanes.
Anyway I was following the car in front of me, with empty road behind me, and as I got to the end of this section of road I saw that white bronco once again in my rear view mirror. He was a LONG ways behind me, but closing incredibly fast. I was probably doing 50, so my conservative guess is that he was doing at least 75, and probably closer to 90.
"Here comes the idiot again," I thought. I was expecting him to catch me in a matter of seconds and swerve around me using the right lane, which was just fine by me. With people like that you just let them pass and hope they don't do something stupid while they're near you. And I had a car in front of me, so it seemed best to stay where I was and leave the right lane open for the idiot.
And then another idiot entered the picture. There's a road right at the end of the "zoo corridor", right at 50th, where you can turn onto Aurora. As I watched the bronco in my rear view mirror, another car pull out from 50th and across both lanes of traffic, pulling RIGHT in front of the bronco, which, as I said, was moving like a bat out of hell.
I thought I was going to witness a massive collision right then and there, but the next thing that happened surprised me even more. The bronco swerved left... into the oncoming Northbound lanes. He managed to avoid the car that had pulled out in front of him, and managed to avoid the concrete barrier which again divided the Northbound from the Southbound lanes right at that point, but he was now on the wrong side of the divider, heading at oncoming traffic.
I now thought I was going to witness a head-on collision. Instead the bronco swerved to the left, across three lanes of traffic. I saw at least two cars slam on their brakes, one sending up a cloud of smoke from their tires. Again the bronco avoided hitting anyone and drove straight into the yard of a house or apartment complex, managing to swerve again so it came to rest facing South, instead of flying into a building.
That was the last I saw of it... and to be honest I'm pretty lucky I didn't have an accident myself, with my eyes glued to the rear-view mirror like that. I didn't even see what happened to the car that had cut in front of him. I'd like to think that the bronco driver was not only spooked by his near-disaster, but that he maybe realized that he'd been driving like a complete idiot and was asking for something like this to happen. But more likely he blamed the driver that pulled in front of him for everything. And while I was very glad that he had managed to avoid hitting anyone, in my heart I like to think that he at least did a little damage to his SUV.
But if he didn't, I have no doubt that soon he will.
