All I could do was sit there. Sit and wait until the driver in front of me discovered his error. He was sitting in the right-hand turn lane, waiting for the light to turn green so he could advance and go straight through the intersection.
Little did he realize at the moment, there was no sensor beneath his car. No sensor, no trigger for the traffic light to change. He clearly meant to be in the lane to the left, the through lane. The only lane with a sensor. We were going to be stuck there until he figured out his misstep.
When I first pulled up to the intersection, there was a monstrous carpet cleaning van in front of me. Apparently, he had less patience, he had already gotten fed up with waiting. He maneuvered his white and orange van to the left of the erroneous driver. Then illegally, he cut in front, wheeled around the corner and away he went.
That left me and the growing line up of cars behind us. I began to calculate my next move. I could lay on the horn. Signalling to the driver that what he was attempting to do something incorrect and that his move was not going to happen. Was it really my job to alert him to his blunder? This tactic tends to cause anger in people so I decided against it.
Moving into the left lane would allow me to turn left or go straight through the intersection. Getting through would not be an issue, my car would trigger the mechanism that controls when cars go through or not. The way it's supposed to work.
Either direction would force me to circle around a few blocks. I had just finished a full shift at the clinic and the last thing I wanted to do was get off track and go the long way around.
If I went straight, the driver who had started this whole mess would no doubt advance through the light at the same time. If I wanted to be an ass, I could push my way through in front of him. I would, after all, be in the correct lane.
My last option was to do as the van before me, go around the driver and cut in front of him. Perhaps making a point of the mistake in the process.
I sat there, about to make my move, there was movement inside the car. The wheels turned hard to the left and the car slowly inched sideways toward the correct lane for his need. Finally, I was granted enough space for my economy sized Toyota to slip through.
As I pulled away from the intersection, free to continue my way, I thought about how this situation relates to our lives. If you are travelling in the wrong lane, you will take longer than necessary to get where you are going. It pays to be aware of your surroundings. Self evaluate at every major decision, correct as you go.
Am I on the correct path? Will this lane take me to where I need to go? Am I willing to accept the consequences and missed opportunities?
We can always self correct, as long as we continue to move forward. We must know where we are going and have an idea of how to get there. Map out the quickest route and get going!
BE BIG. BE BOLD. BE BEAUTIFUL. BE YOU!!!