By Bonnie Brown

Columnist

So, I don’t get out much anymore.  I do less in-store shopping and utilize pickup or delivery options when possible.  Thank you, Amazon!  Can we agree that Oxford is overpopulated?  There are lots of new residents (Welcome!), but the highways and side streets are so very crowded that people have become aggressive when finding their way to their destination.

I honestly think we have arrived at the point of posting speed limit signs in parking lots!  How many times has someone just buzzed out in front of you, expecting you to stop and yield to the aggressive driver who seems to think they have some sort of special license?  

And don’t get me started about the bypass, aka Highway 6.  When I used to travel the bypass, I saw very few cars along my drive.  Now, there is a traffic jam at almost any hour of the day, but especially in late afternoon you are sure to be in stop-and-go mode for more minutes than you wish to be.  

I don’t even mind the busy traffic and have come to expect it, but I do resent someone getting alongside me and turning on their blinker to force their way in front of me.  Get in the correct lane and stay there!  I don’t wish to yield to a rude driver.  I will, however, slow my pace to allow traffic to merge or even change lanes.  But don’t pull over in front of me!  It’s rude!  And who named you Traffic Czar?

Another vexing practice is running red lights.  Really?  Did you fail to read the Mississippi Driver’s Manual?  A red light means “stop.”  Not accelerate, but STOP!  The same red-light law applies to every state.  So why do people think their time is more important and they don’t have to obey the signal which means stop?  Again, it’s rude and, more importantly, it is dangerous.  Touching your brake as you roll through an intersection doesn’t cut it, either.  And once again, who do you think you are to do this?  

I make it a rule to steer away from any vehicle that has a dent in it.  Clearly, they didn’t obey some road sign to get that ding—or perhaps they were the victim of a careless, smarty-pants driver who didn’t observe the rules of the highway.  At any rate, I am particularly cautious because the dent/ding is a signal in itself to stay out of their way.  They can’t be trusted. 

Then there’s the speedster who never drives the limit and drives like their hair’s on fire.  I have seen these folks pass school buses.  What?  Do you realize you are putting young lives at risk?  And then there’s the folks who think that they need to pass me because I’m driving the speed limit.  You know who you are.  You can hardly wait to get into the passing lane.  And may I remind you that the speed limit is the same for that lane too?  So many seem to have forgotten that.

I’m not a horn honker or a finger flicker when I get behind the wheel.  I try to be respectful of my fellow drivers.  I make every effort to obey the laws of the road.  But if you should be able to read lips, perhaps you can decipher my disgust with your rude and dangerous behavior.  And I also say a prayer for your safety because you’re really gonna need it someday.