Sunday, July 10, 2005

On Riding Backwards in Cars

It is only when we visit the people of Fort Wayne, IN that I have the opportunity to ride in a car facing backwards. It is both a thrilling and terrifying experience. Firstly, there is little in the way of leg room, especially with coolers, water bottles, and life jackets surrounding you on every side. This, however, is somewhat made up for by the increase in windows, having both a side and a clear view in front of you. This, in turn, can also be somewhat scary, as you come much closer to the people driving other cars, notably the ones who drive too close behind you.
This location provides one with the perfect opportunity to observe drivers doing illegal things, or things that should be illegal even if the laws have not yet declared them to be. Things like talking on a cell phone and drinking. Yes, drinking and driving is a crime we are all warned against, yet does anyone really listen? Ok, so I'll admit I believe one driver to merely be ingesting coffee, but I am also convinced that all the people contained in one car that persisted in following us for a long time were in fact drinking beer.
My fellow rider and I were quite nervous about allowing some of the people we observed to continue driving...at least so closely to us. And then there were the cars that had headlights on, even though it was the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day. We wanted to play Charades to get them to turn the lights off, but at the same time did not want to distract the drivers from keeping their hands on the wheel.
With the number of people giving so little attention to their driving, is it any wonder that I don't want to drive?

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