Not driving again

At least not today. (I mean, other than what it takes to get me home from here).

When I was preparing to run home for lunch, I realized I really really needed to take a loratadine (the type of antihistamine I use - I try to avoid being dependent on it but grass pollen is really high here and I was sneezing/coughing) and probably also an Excedrin migraine. And then I realized I was out of the Excedrin and nearly out of loratadine.

Which meant a trip to the pharmacy. Yay (not).

You see, several of the large important streets here in town - including the main east-west artery that is NOT the main street (which itself has problems, as it is currently a truck route) - are under massive construction. Seriously, some days everywhere I need to go? I need to find an alternate route to get there.

So anyway. I took another east-west street, but then eventually had to turn to get onto the main east-west route in order to get to the pharmacy. However, the intersection is upstream from the construction, so no problems, right?

Well, one problem: they had reduced the construction area to one lane, with a flagger, so the intersection I had to go through had been temporarily made into a four-way stop, instead of a stoplight*. The cars ahead of me "took turns" like you would at a four-way stop, so I started to do that when my turn came up.

A pickup truck came roaring through the intersection from the other side. I was already in the intersection when he started. I slammed on my brakes and on the horn, he missed me, and I proceeded through, but I was pretty shaken up.

(*at least that was my understanding. All other signs pointed to that condition, just they hadn't bothered to put the stop-sign-on-sawhorses out that they often do when a stoplight is malfunctioning or something. But the lights were all red...)

Then, as I was just done being angry at him, someone pulled out from one of the little strip-mally places that have sprung up along that road. Pulled out right in front of me. Again, I had to slam on the brakes.

Then, finally, when I thought I was safely in the pharmacy parking lot, someone started to back out of a place without looking and nearly hit me.

After I parked, I briefly entertained the hysterical notion that my car and I had somehow turned invisible. (For serious: I drive a RED car. The color is called "candy red," in fact; one of my colleagues jokes that it's really "Police officer, pull me over, red" except I NEVER speed and have never been pulled over)

However, I think there's a more sensible explanation: the heat is making people behave stupidly. Whether it's low-grade, low-impact stupidity, like entering a page and a half of data incorrectly and having to go back and re-do it (as I did this morning) or potentially deadly stupidity, like not watching when you're driving.

(And I know, I know: if a person recounted to me the story of how they were nearly involved in three collisions within 20 minutes of driving time, I'd give them the hairy eyeball and try to formulate a polite way of saying, "Dude, you need to think about how you're driving and maybe take a better-driver course" but I KNOW how I drive, I've not been in an accident in nearly 12 years (yes, I was in a minor collision right after I moved here, but I chalk that up to (a) not knowing the street was not a four way stop and (b) still being freaked out with "transplant shock." And it was not a bad accident - it dinged the fender of the car I hit a little, and I took a small hit on my insurance for a couple years, but no one was hurt and there really was minimal damage). So I don't think it was me.)

I was bemoaning earlier that it's Free Slurpee Day at 7-11s but we don't have one in town. Now, even if there were one within easy driving distance, I don't think I'd go - I'd be too afraid of getting hit. At the end of today I will drive back home, but that's through mostly-residential areas, and there are no weird intersections or parking lots to deal with.

I'm just hoping - I have plans to go meet a friend for shopping on Friday - that I can avoid any accidents. (I'd rather have a near-miss than an accident, but I'd far rather not deal with anyone's careless driving.)