Saved

This morning, for the second time in three days, I heard the sickening sound of brakes squealing followed by the crushing of fiberglass and metal.
A "fender-bender" as it were.
I didn't happen to be looking out the window when either of the accidents happened, but it was pretty easy to tell what had happened in each of the cases:
1) One or both of the drivers were driving too fast.
2) One or both of the drivers were impatiently attempting to turn across traffic or change lanes or perform some other maneuver that would have been significantly easier to perform by applying the brake first and waiting a few seconds rather than pressing the accelerator and "beat" the other drivers on the road.
3) Cell phones and other distractions were involved.

Luckily, no one appeared to have been hurt. (The real pain will come later from the insurance companies.) Still, between these two accidents, roughly seven people -- who had been in something of a hurry to get where they were going --were held up for roughly an hour to an hour-and-a-half before they could continue on their way to their destinations.
Piglets, if you want the whole spiel again, you will find it here, but I will re-iterate. Driving fast and recklessly does not save you as much time as you think, and, in some cases, can make you even later. Plan ahead. Leave early. And, if you're running late, then be late. I guarantee you that you won't make up the time on the road.
Furthermore:
>The cell phone is a marvelous invention. It is. I find mine to be terribly convenient, and I feel very secure knowing that my eighteen-year-old baby sister has her cell phone with her as she begins her freshman year of college in Boulder.
I have also found the cell phone useful for calling ahead to let someone know that I'm running late, or to ask my roommate if I should stop by the grocery store on the way home for toilet paper or other essentials. If, however, you are using your cell phone in your car for other than a few seconds at a red light, you are endangering yourself and the others around you on the road.
>Turn signals aren't a courtesy, they are an essential part of inter-driver communication.
>If you like the color and shape of your car, give the person ahead of you a little distance.

Come on cherubs, you know this.
Whether you believe that we are what we are as a result of evolution or intelligent design or Divine will, you have to admit one thing:
We're smarter than this.

The life you save just might be your own, or, more importantly, mine.