Blue Light Special

 

I had the unfortunate experience of trying to get home this afternoon at 5pm on Rt 419 near what used to be Annie Moore's Irish Pub in Roanoke.

 

I was getting ready to pull out on Rt 419 from the Elderberry parking area and was patiently waiting for a break in the near-continuous wall of oncoming traffic. Finally, I saw the traffic break coming and steeled myself for insertion into the asphalt monster. Unfortunately for me, a gentleman in a convertible BMW sedan well downstream from me saw the break as well and made a right turn from beside North Cross at the Colonial Ave light, thus halving the break space. I contemplated pulling out in front of him, but he suddenly accelerated quickly...so I decided to wait for him to pass by me. As soon as he did, I began to pull out into the smaller break that was left as the oncoming peloton whooshed in with great speed. 

 

Suddenly, right in front of me across two lanes of traffic, I glimpsed a huge Toyota Tundra crossing the other two lanes of traffic to the median right across from me. It looked as if she was going to continue across into the lane I was about to take, but she slammed on her brakes. Meanwhile, another driver of a small black sedan was hot on her heels. He swerved to miss her and stopped beside her in the median. He was very unhappy.

 

Realizing they had both stopped, I gunned it and grabbed the lane closest to me ahead of the oncoming wave. The Tundra lady hesitated again. This further infuriated the black sedan guy, and he gunned his car the rest of the way around her and zoomed out in the left lane and went along his merry, angry way.

 

Unfortunately for him, there was a third car trying to cross those lanes of traffic and who just had time to make the crossing before the whoosh. As he completed his maneuver, I watched the drama in my rear-view mirror as he turned on his blue lights and pulled-over the angry black sedan. 

 

I was quite confident that I hadn't done anything wrong, and I didn't really feel to sorry for the black sedan driver. I continued my trek home by turning off Rt 419 at my first opportunity to get to I-581 via the three wacky under-construction UCLA (University On Colonial Avenue) traffic circles. That insanity was refreshing compared to the Electric Road nightmare. 

 

I'm glad I don't live on that side of town.