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My city has a river in it. One of the crossings consists of two one-way bridges. You want to go west, you get on one road that becomes the bridge. You want to go east, you'll be one block away from the westbound bridge. Going over either bridge involves driving uphill, crossing well above the water, and coming back down again, much like a freeway overpass.
Driving home from rehearsals at the community theater last night. My car was at the front of a pack of six or seven cars with at least one of us in each of the four lanes. Otherwise the street ahead of us was clear... until suddenly I see headlights crest the hill directly in front of me.
Some SUV was going the wrong way on the one-way bridge. I braked and hit the horn at the same time. I wasn't the only one. The SUV flipped an abrupt U-Turn and started back down the hill, running the red light at the bottom.
Now, I kind of understand that. I've gone the wrong way on a one-way street before. It's scary, and it's terribly embarrassing, but it happens. You turn around, get out of everyone's way, and find another road to get where you're trying to go. I could have chalked this up to temporary stupidity or an honest mistake by someone from out of town, maybe.
But here's the weird part: When going the wrong way, the SUV was headed west. After the U-turn, it was headed east. And it continued to go east for at least another 1.5 miles.
My wife and I speculated.
- An out-of-towner who had no idea where to go?
- A driver who just made one of those "no, your other left" kind of wrong turns?
- A drunk or high driver who doesn't know where he's going?
- Someone being dared by a friend or passenger to see how far he can get going the wrong way on a one-way street?
- A simple mistake followed by panic? (The driver did run several red lights on his way eastward.)
Whatever it was, I was more than a little freaked out.
And my son pointed out afterward that the SUV's headlights went off as soon as it ran the first red light at the bottom of the hill, and they stayed off for as long as we observed it.
Driving home from rehearsals at the community theater last night. My car was at the front of a pack of six or seven cars with at least one of us in each of the four lanes. Otherwise the street ahead of us was clear... until suddenly I see headlights crest the hill directly in front of me.
Some SUV was going the wrong way on the one-way bridge. I braked and hit the horn at the same time. I wasn't the only one. The SUV flipped an abrupt U-Turn and started back down the hill, running the red light at the bottom.
Now, I kind of understand that. I've gone the wrong way on a one-way street before. It's scary, and it's terribly embarrassing, but it happens. You turn around, get out of everyone's way, and find another road to get where you're trying to go. I could have chalked this up to temporary stupidity or an honest mistake by someone from out of town, maybe.
But here's the weird part: When going the wrong way, the SUV was headed west. After the U-turn, it was headed east. And it continued to go east for at least another 1.5 miles.
My wife and I speculated.
- An out-of-towner who had no idea where to go?
- A driver who just made one of those "no, your other left" kind of wrong turns?
- A drunk or high driver who doesn't know where he's going?
- Someone being dared by a friend or passenger to see how far he can get going the wrong way on a one-way street?
- A simple mistake followed by panic? (The driver did run several red lights on his way eastward.)
Whatever it was, I was more than a little freaked out.
And my son pointed out afterward that the SUV's headlights went off as soon as it ran the first red light at the bottom of the hill, and they stayed off for as long as we observed it.
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