Aggressive drivers on the road to disaster in East County

So it was a sleepy Saturday morning ... except for the drivers.

It was a couple of weeks ago when I was sitting at a red light on State Road 70 at its intersection with Lorraine Road. I guess I had a premonition, because I glanced into my rear view mirror to see if I should expect any craziness.

The intersection has two lanes on S.R. 70 headed eastward, but the right lane only runs 100 yards from the signal light and turns into the Wawa center. I was in the left-hand lane and there was a car to my right.

When I looked into the mirror, though, I saw a woman, likely in her 40s, who seemed to be throwing a major fit directly behind me. There was a simple reason for her anger ... she was behind me.

Perhaps she knows that being a senior, I lack the driving aggressiveness of my youth. I am well aware that often, the car in the right lane, at that particular signal light, has no intention of turning right, but wants to speed forward and then cut back into the left lane as the right lane runs out of real estate.

And, guess what? That's OK with me these days. Just go ... please. S.R. 70 is a dangerous road, and I try to avoid it as much as I can. But when I am headed to Myakka City, I try to be, well, conservative.

Funny thing, though, the car to my right didn't jump off the start, and rode alongside me for the 100 yards before turning right. This seemed to be one of those "all's right with the world" moments, except that Crazy Lady behind me, in a mid-sized sedan, was not pleased.

When the right lane ended, she was stuck behind me in a no passing zone, and her temperature was rising. I noticed in my passenger side mirror that she had pulled onto the shoulder and was attempting to pass me that way, with no lane available.

She didn't get too far, though, when she realized the shoulder most likely was going to send her into the ditch, and she got back in line.

She hugged my back bumper and I buzzed ahead at 60 mph, catching up to another car in front of me, which was, in turn, following a large citrus truck. Usually it might take 15 minutes to get to Myakka City, but we probably weren't going to make it for 19 minutes, God forbid.

So, with a truck and two cars all cruising along at 60 miles per hour, Crazy Lady, in her mid-sized sedan, crossed a double yellow line and zipped past me. The stupidity of the moment was frightening, and I hit the brake because I didn't want to be collateral damage when she hit a west-bound vehicle head-on. 

She passed the other car and then was taking on the truck. I couldn't see what might be coming the other direction, and I continued to slow down. She did make it, though, and I didn't see her car again for four or five minutes until she ended up behind a few more trucks. Her brush with death saved her about 30 seconds.

But that wasn't the end of my morning joy ride.

I stopped at Dakin Dairy, then headed back to S.R. 70 on Betts Road to turn right (east) toward Myakka City. A solid line of cars were zooming west, but the east lane was clear. I looked both ways, and pulled on to S.R. 70.

And just as I did, Mario Andretti shot out of the west-bound lane to pass cars. Here I was, basically standing still, looking death in the bumper. The car was going so fast, right at me, I only had time to yank my car toward the shoulder of the road. We were three cars across the two lanes, Mario making his pass and then darting back into the west-bound lane. My heart was thumping as I realized I had come a few feet from death. My tombstone would read, "Killed by Idiot Driver."

The Florida Department of Transportation is adding seven roundabouts on S.R. 70 from Uihlein Road to County Road 675 in the hope of curbing some of the insanity. I know many of you have a distaste for roundabouts, but it's our own horrible driving habits that make such construction necessary.

Furthermore, the FDOT also has begun a safety campaign to educate the public on aggressive driving. It's worth taking note.

I will offer one more story as I plead with you not to be Crazy Lady, or Mario Andretti, or this next guy. Look in the mirror. Is this you? Do you want to wake up every day knowing your driving caused someone's death? Or what if you don't wake up at all because of your bad driving habits?

This was a couple days ago, again on S.R. 70, but this time coming out of the 7-Eleven parking lot. It's actually a road called Fields Lane.

I was at the stop sign waiting to turn right (west), looking up and down the highway. To my left, getting ready to leave the shoulder and get into the right lane was a tractor-trailer. Obviously, he had some mechanical difficultly and had pulled over to the shoulder.

I could see the driver looking at me, wondering if I would give him a moment to get back on the road. I waved him ahead and he waved back to thank me.

Just before I waved him forward, a car had pulled up behind me. If you are not familiar with that area, it is two-lane road, with one lane going in each direction. Those driving east on S.R. 70 turn left into The Green on Fields Lane.

Well, the guy must have needed to get to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center because he flipped when I motioned the tractor-trailer forward. He pulled out into the lane next to us, which of course, was for cars going the opposite direction. He pulled right in front of the tractor-trailer, which had to brake. Then, his car was going head-to-head with another vehicle that had turned left off S.R. 70 to come into the strip mall.

The two cars swerved to miss each other, and the impatient idiot almost took out the front of my car. Out of control, he entered the lanes of traffic, and almost was taken out by another car going west on S.R. 70 at 60-to-70 mph. It could have been a horrifying scene.

When the tractor-trailer passed, I pulled out onto S.R. 70 and went into the left lane, heading to the next light to turn left on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. The idiot driver was in front of me, stopped at the light. He was about my age, which is to say 60-something.

I followed him down Lakewood Ranch Boulevard for a while, and he turned left into the Country Club. I guess he didn't have to go to the hospital after all.

Until the next time.