Commuters Through the Forest

I’m a commuter. I commute to school and soon to my new job, and the commutes range from an hour to two hours depending on traffic. Sometimes, I’ve been stuck in traffic a bit more. For Californians, commuting isn’t such a big deal. Although we cannot live in fear, if you think about it, driving can be a challenge and quite dangerous.

Think about it; we share the roads with irresponsible and negligent people, such as those who irresponsibly text and drive or drunk drivers. I’ve heard people say, “it’s just an hour away. Not that bad of a drive.” While that may resonate truth to it, I keep thinking that anything can happen on the road. I always pray that God protects my commutes, and I also pray for family and friends.

On one of my commutes, I almost got into two accidents. Now, I had time enough to look to the right lane and dodge the aggressive driver coming from the left. Several minutes later, because I was a bit shaky about the incident, I was the one that almost provoked an accident because I did not double check my over my shoulder and mirror before merging onto the right lane. With that said, I appreciate professors and employers who understand that commuting is a difficult task. The driving part is easy. You get from point A to point B. However, as I mentioned, there are many dangerous and negligent drivers out there.

Recently, in California, we have construction everywhere, which is quite frustrating. People are driving with severe stress and anger. My fight or flight is on throughout my commute because I am trying to be cautious and attentive. That in itself drains the mind.
I don’t have extreme road rage, but I have to admit I do have some road rage. You put on your blinkers, and people won’t let you through. There are slow drivers who speed up when you’re trying to pass them, and then they slow down on purpose. Now we have texters on the road, which, in my opinion, should be put in prison at least three months for their negligence. Texters are just as bad as drunk drivers. I don’t see a difference.

I also try to stay in the fast lanes because the freight trucks, most of them, have no respect. They merge in abruptly at times and if you’re not careful, “Goodbye cruel world.” Recently, and I don’t know why the terrible and unfortunate news lingered in my mind, a freight truck killed two moms and their children—only the fathers survived. How tragic! I don’t know who they are since I saw this on the news, but I hope and pray that God helps the fathers through their grief.

Also, for some reason, people become less cautious during bad weather. A lot of people are afraid of driving during bad weather, and we all know what fear does to us, we make mistakes—well, in particular circumstances. How ironic because we should be more careful, right? Then we have those who are utterly fearless because they believe that once they are inside the car, “I’m demigod!”

So what’s creepy about sharing the road with others? I’ll give you a list. Some I’ve already mentioned. But here it goes.

1. Drunk drivers (or other substance)
2. Texting & driving
3. Adverse weather conditions
4. Fearful drivers
5. Freight trucks
6. Bad drivers, such as those who merge in without looking or those who just rely on their mirrors! Scary.
7. Aggressive drivers (Aka, road rage) I believe slow drivers have road rage too by the way.
8. Bump kissing drivers: those driving so close to your rear.
9. The uncooperative drivers: Those who choose not to cooperate with you and enclose your pathway or don’t let you through.
10. Stress
11. Life (at times, accidents just happen, and it’s out of our control.)

So, all those ten reasons, plus the bonus 11^th, makes me wonder about the phrase, “it’s just an hour commute.” Yes, but at the same time, the roads have an influx of people who have little to no respect for the life of others.

The way I see it, it’s an hour quest through a dangerous forest battling monsters and dragons. Okay, that might be a bit hyperbolic. But is it just me who is thinking all this by the way? Maybe, it’s just me.

https://anaprose.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/commuters-through-the-forest