I'm Glad That God Is My Co-pilot

One of the blogs I read is Crickl's Nest at http://www.angelfire.com/art2/crickl/view/
She wrote last week about driving in Phoenix being scary. I have said that ever since we moved here(to the far West Valley, not to Phoenix) a year ago. We came from Orange County where the freeways are packed all the time. But the driving style is completely different, somehow. For one thing, in Arizona big trucks, pickups with trailers of all sort can drive in any lane and go as fast as the cars. THAT scares me. How would you like to have all the traffic up ahead come to a screeching halt and see an 18-wheeler in your rear view mirror barrelling down on you? When I lived in the OC and drove 19 miles to work on 3 freeways--which took 45 min. each morning and up to 2 hrs. each evening, I only had one minor accident in all my 40 driving years there. I was a fast driver--keeping up with the cars in the fast lane--but a safe driver.

Since we moved, I have slowed down for one reason only--to save on gas. There have been many trips to Phoenix, but mostly we go to Goodyear and Avondale to do most of our shopping. Yesterday, I had 2 near misses, which made me glad that I am a saved believer in Jesus. I know where I'm going when I die!

First incident: A pickup, towing a trailer with a new Eclipse on it whizzed by me then got caught in traffic and proceeded to jump lanes to get around traffic. He got caught behind a slow line of traffic. I was going by him in the fast lane(there are only 2 lanes on each side on the 10 Fwy out where we live), when he swung into my lane. If I hadn't been able to stand hard on my brakes, the trailer he was towing would have sideswiped me. That was scary!

Second incident: Just when I thought I was "home free", a crazy thing happened. To get to my house, I leave the freeway at an exit that has a really big truckstop. I am often stuck behind big rigs turning into the truckstop before I can proceed down the street. I was slowed down to almost a stop while a truck was turning in. He finished his turn and I pressed on the gas. Just then, on my left, came a PT Cruiser passing me as I was accellerating. When the truck finished his turn, I could see 4 cars coming head-on toward that PT. I, once again, slammed on my brakes, trying to stay back as far from the impending crash as I could. I was preparing to turn my wheels and get off the road completely. Somehow, the fellow in the PT managed to get back into the right side of the road before anyone hit him. I'll bet his life flashed before his eyes!

These are merely 2 of many crazy incidents my husband and I have witnessed while travelling the roads of the great Phoenix metro area. Whatza matter with these people? There are always a few that are in a huge hurry and have no regard for anyone else. I heard on the news tonight that a woman was clocked at 103 mph on the 101 Loop(not really a freeway, but goes between 2 major freeways) by the traffic ticket camera--not in the middle of the night, but in the middle of the afternoon! Yikes!