Bad Drivers

So it has been awhile since I have posted. Life gets in the way of blogging sometimes. :-) One thing Chris and I discuss is how bad the drivers are here in AZ. I mean it is amazing some of the things that these people try and also surprising that they are shocked when in an accident because of it. One thing I have noticed out here is that people have a real sense of entitlement. I am entitled to cut you off because where I am going is more important. I am entitled to run the light because I am in a bigger hurry than you. I am entitled to weave in and out of traffic because I need the 3 seconds I just shaved off of my travel time. Of course the entitlement extends past just the driving, but that is a whole other post.

The key to all of this is to make sure you don't get sucked in to it. Don't react negatively if you can help it, and don't do something crazy to "get back" at the other driver. On my way home there is an intersection that has 2 lanes to turn left and one to go straight. Well a lot of people figure if they don't get over in time to be in a left turn lane, they can just turn out of the going straight lane. This causes many problems as they come out of nowhere and try to squeeze in. Invariably the person behind them honks, then the fingers come out, yelling and if we are lucky it stops there. The other day it did not stop there, it involved a heated chase. I was originally in front of the action as they didn't cut me off but the person behind me. Once the chase started I backed off so I was not near them because I didn't want to be involved. This time it was lucky there was not a crash, but too often this is how the accidents happen. I realize a lot of this is just because we are in such a large city now. However it doesn't mean that I have to like it.

I think entitlement is one of my least favorite feelings that people have. Very rarely are we really entitled to something that we think we should have. We are not entitled solely because we breathe. We must work on ourselves and do better at all times and earn things. Even then it is never a guarantee. I think this goes along with being kind. If you are working on being kind to others, then you are not able to spend your time feeling entitled.