A New Holiday . . .

Today is National Don't Yield to Oncoming Cars When Turning Left at a Traffic Light Day. No one told me before I left for work this morning (amazingly, it isn't printed on my calendar), so I was understandably surprised.

At the Union/Research intersection, the light was green, so as always I did not stop but continued going straight (it seems absurd to mention that, but because of drivers I've seen lately, it is an important distinction to make). Two cars across the intersection were in the left turn lane, and as I entered the intersection, one of the cars turned left right in front of me. I immediately thought, "Wow, that guy really should have waited for me to pass. That was way too . . . " but a millisecond later, the SUV behind that guy decided to go, as well. This time it was far, far, far too close. I slammed on my brakes and came within literally four feet of smacking into the guy, and he actually slowed down when our vehicles were perpendicular. I honked at him and gave him a get-the-hell-out-of-the-intersection look. He waved at me, but it looked more like a greeting than an apology. So from my dead stop in the middle of the intersection, I began to accelerate as the light turned red.

On my way home about 4.5 hours later, I once again approached the Union/Research intersection. The light was red, so I stopped and waited for a couple of minutes. I was in the middle lane, prepared to go straight, and I watched the cars across the intersection with the wariness of a soldier entering enemy territory. The light turned green, I accelerated, and . . . surprise! Happy Don't Yield to Oncoming Cars When Turning Left at a Traffic Light Day! . . . the first car turning left did not yield. It was a teenage girl driving a brand-new Mustang, and she came within a few feet of hitting me before she realized her error and stopped. As I passed, I noticed that she looked terribly embarrassed.

Well, next year I'll mark November 6th on my calendar and maybe I'll just sleep in that day.