An Open Letter to People Who Drive Like Jerks on Loop 49 in Tyler
Look, I get it. We're all in a hurry (for some reason.) You want to get where you're going. And honestly, yes, it's annoying to be stuck behind someone going more slowly than you when you just wanna feel the freedom of the open road while blaring your music or whatever you're doing.
AT THE SAME TIME, is it really worth risking your life, not to mention the lives of others, just so you can get to Taco Bell five minutes earlier than planned? The correct answer, by the way, is NO.
Over the past couple of weeks, I found myself on Loop 49 in Tyler more often than usual. I also was leaving the house EXTRA early for work-related events. These are events I really, really couldn't be late for. Which adds more fuel to the fire...
Why do you have to drive 85 miles per hour at 4:45 in the morning? I mean...really.
Here's the thing. I'm not a slow driver. I appreciate being able to go 75 mph on Loop 49. That's already faster than we can go on most other East Texas roads and highways. And so, I go as fast as is legally allowed.
On top of that, whenever there's a lane for "slower traffic," I always move over so that those who are fully committed to risking their lives by going 87 plus mph can freely go forth down the road.
THREE times while I was making my way around Loop 49, I found myself being followed dangerously close by an overly exuberant driver. No, it wasn't a first responder. Just your run of the mill speed demon.
LOOK, I'm not trying to burn ya here. There are situations where someone is REALLY in need of going fast because maybe they're having an emergency. But that's pretty rare, thankfully.
In fact, one morning I was behind an actual ambulance who honestly going pretty slow. But perhaps they had someone in the vehicle they were tending to and so wanted to take it slower.
So there I was behind the ambulance when another speed demon got so close to me, if I'd had to brake AT ALL for the ambulance, there would've been a wreck. What the hell, y'all?
Bottom line? Please don't be an an a**hole driver. Please don't potentially kill someone while driving because you're in an obscene hurry to get a burrito. Drive friendly. Good grief.
Have you had a similar experience?