Yesterday, I spent over two hours idling in traffic. The interstate was closed due to an earlier accident. It was this one. At the time, all I knew was that there had been an accident. Less than a mile from the accident site, I hadn't seen a single emergency vehicle, but traffic on a 4-lane highway doesn't back up for miles over nothing. We all knew someone had died. I was sad for that unknown person, and quietly grateful not to have been personally involved.
Many of the strangers around me were losing their minds. I watched in virtual horror as a woman on a cell phone got out of her Lexus and walked to the car behind her, to scream and curse at the other driver. To Driver #2's credit, she ignored the irate woman yelling at her through the rolled up window. After the first hour, I estimate that I had traveled less than a quarter-mile. Impatient drivers had started driving in the paved right shoulder. It wasn't long before some brave/stupid souls built a further right lane on the sloped grass. All I could do was shake my head and wait.
The authorities had been diverting traffic off the interstate for approximately 4 hours by the time I arrived close to the accident scene. Just that moment, they opened up 2 of the 4 lanes and allowed us to pass. As I drove past the accident scene, I was impressed to see that all of the vehicles involved had been removed, as well as most of the debris. What remained were char marks and a large reddish brown area on the pavement. We all knew what that meant as well. Again, gratitude swept over me. It was all I could do to avoid becoming an accident victim myself as my fellow drivers sped and swerved in order to make up for lost time. All I could do was take a deep breath, and drive more carefully than I had driven in a very long time...
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