Today was my first day of school. I arrived at 8am, nerdily early for my 8:30 class, to discover by 8:40 that the class was not going to occur. As my next class was not until 10:30 I got a locker, parking pass, and paid my tuition. 10:30 arrived, and then after half an hour we were let go as per custom the first day of classes, and I met up with my blondie bestie Megan and we team tagged it from 11:15-2:20, buying textbooks, selling textbooks, eating mini donuts. I hiked up three flights of stairs to my class at 2:30 to find a note on the door saying ECS 110 is cancelled. I laughed, trod down the stairs, used the washroom, and walked to my car. I backed my car out, made a right hand turn, a left hand turn, and then all of a sudden my instincts made me slam on my breaks as the truck in front of me got smashed into by a left hand turner, causing him to swerve heavily, get impacted and hit the traffic light pole hard. My hands shook and my mouth and eyes were wide open. Everyone was okay, contact info was swapped, and I went on my way, but holy man. That could have been me. If I hadn't have used the washroom, or had I walked just a little faster to my car. And I don't know if my little Acura would have held up as well as the pick up truck. I wondered if my airbag has a default, and how terrible it would feel for a cranium to hit the steering wheel. He hit the pole with a lot of momentum. It didn't look like he should have gotten out of his truck.

So the rest of my trip home all I saw was accidents. On a quick stop on ring road I saw the semi unable to brake, slamming into the car behind me. I decided I would have swerved into the ditch. I saw my brakes failing as I slowed to a left hand turn onto Vic, and envisioned myself making a heavy left into the grass to avoid slamming into the back of the truck in front of me, turning hard with the e-brake. I wondered what the truck driver who hit the pole could have done in those split seconds to avoid the accident. Accelerate? Brake? Swerve the other direction?

Anyway, point being, it was scary. Point being: not everyone should have their license. Point being: None of us should have our license. How many car accidents happen in a year? How many in Saskatchewan? Worldwide? How many deaths could have been avoided had excellent public transport been invented before individual vehicles making individual vehicles unnecessary?

The other day I got a rude honking for not making a risky left hand turn. I may or may not have flipped that person the bird. Drivers are stupid, myself included.

Don't drink and drive.
Don't text and drive.