While driving home from the airport this afternoon, I was caught in a tumultuous storm. Visibility dropped to almost nothing and in some areas there were deep, standing patches of water.
As this happened, every car on the road slowed down and put their hazard lights on. I turned off my radio so I could focus and I’m sure other people did too.
But what I found most amazing was how polite and understanding everyone was to each other.
We all drove at the same speed. If you needed to get out a lane or move to the offramp, people let each other in immediately. At one stage I almost got stuck in a deep patch of water, and the car in the lane behind me stopped and flashed their lights, and allowed me to join in front of them.
I know that people were likely doing this is in the interest of their own safety. But there was also a really odd sense of community on the road. We were all in a common predicament, and we were looking out for each other.
In contrast, we are often horrible to other people on the road. We get angry at slower drivers and angry at faster ones. We complain about people cutting in front of us and get annoyed when people hoot at us for cutting in front of them.
It seems like having a common adversarial situation and danger changed this, only for a little bit.
It’s odd, but tough circumstances often bring out the kinder side of humans.
Image is of Devils peak at sunset, taken by my mom 🙂
Blog: 290/365. Click here to read about my #365of25 journey
Song of the day: Grimes - Realiti