White Lines

I'm one of those drivers you hate to see on the road. Now don't be too critical; you're likely just as bad as me. I know it's not a race, but still, I'd rather lead than follow. Besides, I tell myself, the faster I go, the more quickly traffic behind me can travel.

It's like the interminable traffic light. Don't you hate it when the line is so long that you only move forward once the light turns red again? Why is that? It's because of all those slowpokes at the front who are waiting 1/2 second longer than they need to to accelerate. Every car behind them is slowed down and us poor souls at the back of the line can only creep forward once the light has changed again.

I go fast; it's for your benefit. So stop swearing at me.

They're resurfacing a major road near my home. I was travelling it yesterday on a moonless night. In the absence of streetlights or starlight the only lights were headlights. The centerline was painted, but none of the white lines were put down yet.

It was an odd experience. I knew, as did most every other driver on the road, that this was normally a four lane highway. We zip next to each other at 50 to 60 mph without a second thought. (At least that that's what us "considerate" drivers do!) But on this night it felt different. There still was room for two cars side by side, but without the broken white line between us it somehow felt unsafe. And the absent solid white line to the right made the shoulder seem closer than usual.

So instead of zooming down the road two cars abreast we felt our way down it one car at a time. I waxed philosophical: "And you shall know the white lines, and the white lines shall set you free." Or something like that.