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cc&d v177

Revisionist Road Rage

Adrian Ludens

    Yellow turned to red as Trent slid through the intersection. He checked his rearview mirror guiltily. No police car but there was a black Jetta coming up fast.
    As they cleared the intersection the Jetta abruptly changed lanes and sped past on Trent’s left. The traffic in that lane had slowed and Trent anticipated being cut off by the Jetta. He eased his foot off the accelerator and lightly tapped his breaks. Sure enough, the Jetta’s driver yanked the steering wheel to the right in another abrupt lane change.
    The Jetta shot forward, rapidly eating up the space between it and the vehicles further up the street. Trent pressed his palm into the steering wheel, sounding the horn in a long shriek. The driver shot him a look in the rearview mirror. Trent saw the man’s arm beginning to raise to flip him off.
    “Jerk,” was all Trent could say before “Jetta guy” was served up a dose of instant karma.
     The air was pierced by a loud crack. Shards of debris sprayed from the front passenger side of the Jetta as its headlight and turn signal shattered. The Jetta bucked to the left, narrowly avoiding sideswiping a station wagon in the next lane. The Jetta had clipped a Sunfire that had slowed to turn.
    The Jetta’s driver accelerated again. Trent sped up in hopes of getting the license number when an old ranch couple in a dirty extended cab truck changed lanes, blocking his line of vision. Trent considered passing them in an attempt to catch the Jetta but then saw the old man raise a cell phone to his ear.
    “They got his plates,” Trent thought and grinned.
    He had lost sight of the Jetta but it didn’t matter.
    Trent turned around in a parking lot and retraced his path until he got back to where the Sunfire’s driver had pulled over.
    A police cruiser rolled up. Trent waited as the Sunfire’s driver made his statement. Then the cop turned and walked over to him.
    “You saw what happened?” he asked.
    “Sure did. I noticed a black Jetta driving practically right up my tail pipe back at the light. He was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. He cut me off and I-”
    He what? Honked and made the driver of the Jetta take his eyes off the road? Provoked the other driver into an act of road rage and caused a traffic accident in the bargain?
    “And I said to myself, ‘That guy is going to hit somebody.’ And that’s just what happened.” Trent finished.
    Well, not exactly, but close enough. The officer wouldn’t want Trent to complicate matters with unnecessary details.
    “Someone already called 911 and reported the license plate, so we’ll get him.” the patrolman said. “Appreciate you stopping. Have a nice day.”
    “No problem.” Trent said as he got back into his own car. He felt good about his role in all of this. “No problem at all.”



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