Rear-Ended by Jimmy Dillnuts

It was Civic vs. Civic in this Municipal Demolition Derby on Saturday. It amazes me the amount of damage that can be done in a 50 km/h zone.

I snapped this picture on the weekend, driving past the accident scene, as Suz and I were on our way back from the grocery store. There were two other cars by the Civic, and a police cruiser on my right side. I don't know why, but for as long as I can remember I've loved taking pictures of accidents. Suz thinks I'm nuts. She really didn't want me to take the picture, saying, "the police are right there! Don't! They're going to see you!" But what are the police going to do? I'm not breaking the law.

Speaking of breaking the law, I think, generally, the police are too lenient on bad drivers. I remember the first time I really realized that. I was sitting at a red light, with a police cruiser waiting at the same red light, on the opposite side of the intersection. When our light went green, we both started through the intersection. Suddenly, a car zoomed between us, running the red light. To my shock and surprise, the officer did not pursue.

But wait! There has to be a good reason he didn't go after the red-light-runner, right? Maybe he didn't see the car because it was going SO fast. Maybe he blinked, or was looking down at his radio. Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he was en route to something more important.

I realize there are far more important things than stopping every bad driver, but these drivers endanger lives. Part of the problem is that people don't care about getting a ticket. What's a $115 fine to Jimmy Dillnuts when he is running late? It's pocket change compared to the $62,000 SUV hybrid he is driving. What he should be worried about is killing someone.

The more people think they can get away with breaking the rules of the road, the more they'll do it. That's when cute little old ladies in Honda Civics get rear-ended by hormonal teenagers in Honda Civics. Or, that's when cautious newly-licenced teenagers get rear-ended by slow-reacting half-blind little old ladies.