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bad drivers

Tonight, on my way to a poetry meeting, a car almost hit me.

I was waiting to cross Main St., which, as its name suggests, is a pretty busy thoroughfare. The light changed & I had the walk sign. I looked to my left to make sure traffic had stopped in that direction, then I proceeded to cross.

Maybe the car directly alongside of me at the corner was about to turn right & was waiting for me to move out of the lane; for some reason, it was not advancing. So the guy in the lane with the traffic moving in the opposite direction decided to do a jerk move & turn left in front of it. Turning left ahead of oncoming traffic is illegal in Michigan. I'm sure the guy knew this.

By the time I was aware of this, I would have had no time to react, because he made the maneuver so quickly. I could just feel this increasing wave of anxiety/dread/fear penetrate my body as the car advanced.

Finally, he looked up & saw me. He stopped mid-turn in the intersection. I recovered myself & gave the shrug of "What gives?" Another driver honked. Through his open window, he said, "I'm sorry." I'm sure he would have said the same had he actually struck me.

I got to the other corner & turned toward the bookshop. I noticed that the car was hung up by a red light. Lots of good that move did him.