Dude! Where's my car?

Well, let me tell you. Last I saw your car, it was failing to stop at a stop sign. After that, it was shooting down 6th Street at about 30 mph. Shortly after, it was straddling the railway line behind the Davis Food Co-op, and you were doubtless feeling both foolish and bloody lucky. Foolish because you clearly were not paying attention to the main business of driving safely, and lucky because believe it or not, there are trains that run down that line. Big trains. Heavy trains. Trains going fast enough and with sufficient momentum that they would crush you and your car like bugs.

Does this ring a bell with you? Goodness, I hope so. I really wish I'd had a camera because I would be posting a picture of you along with this post. What were you thinking? Clearly, your mind was elsewhere. Maybe you were (illegally) on the phone. Maybe you were texting someone. You may have been reading a map. But whatever you were doing, be aware of this - you were not driving in any way safely, and you were putting other people in danger. In short, you are an idiot and a scofflaw.

Sadly, you are in great company. And I don't mean "great" in the sense of good, either. You are in that great multitude of drivers who clearly don't feel that the basic, common-sense rules of the road apply to you. I've seen them everywhere. On freeways, doing 80+ whilst reading or using a phone, or putting on lipstick.

Now clyclists, don't start feeling all superior and the like. It's not just motorists, you know. At least in Davis, there are dozens, nay, hundreds of cyclists who regularly flout the law and ignore safety. They do all of the above, with added bonuses like riding without lights, the wrong way down the bike lanes and with no hands on the handlebars.

Let me just get this straight. The poor deluded souls in their cars are at least protected by a high-tech steel cage with seatbelts and those explody-bag things to protect them in case of accident. You, on the other hand, are exposed to the elements, and I don't just mean the weather. You are as bad as the guy we started with, who was risking his life by potentially going up against hundreds of tons of train. All teh protection you have is your clothes and a helmet. Good grief.

What is wrong with you people? Do you think you are immortal, or are you just stupid? Evidence points to the latter.