I commented on traffic stupidity I came across back in May, witnessing relatively low level stupidity.
Over the past two days I've seen it elevated to a much higher level, again on my way to work.
Two mornings in a row the same fellow followed me off the bypass, tailgating me in an effort to “step it up” because I have to assume he was in a hurry. Once clear of the off-ramp and on to the state highway heading south, he pulled around me, accelerating rapidly and reach what I have to estimate well in excess of 65 miles per hour on stretch of the highway with a speed limit of 40.
Yesterday he got away with passing cars, in a dangerous and reckless manner, even pulling into oncoming traffic to gain a few car lengths. At a traffic light he pulled into the left turn lane and when the light changed to allow the turn he cut straight across rather than making the turn, cutting off the car just to the right of him.
Today he tried something like it again, trying to use the left turn lane to bypass the traffic in the two lanes to his left.
He almost made it.
When he cut across from the left turn lane he didn't leave quite enough room between him and the car in the extreme right lane and his right rear quarter sideswiped the left front of that car, causing him to almost lose control and causing body damage to both cars. At first I didn't think he was going to stop, seeing as he was in a such a big hurry. Then the driver of the car he sideswiped turned on his blue lights and went after him, to be joined a few seconds later by one of the local police cruisers that had been coming from the opposite direction.
The car this idiot sideswiped was an unmarked State Police cruiser.
About two miles up the road I came across the two cruisers, the local cop, the State trooper, and the traffic miscreant. He was face down over the hood of the local cruiser with his hands cuffed behind him. The State Police cruiser had quite a bit of wrinkled sheet metal from the bumper back to the wheel well, but it appeared to be drivable.
I guess this guy was going to be very late for work.
