I took Adventure Boy to school today.  He had some last-minute stuff to do, and would not have gotten to school on time if he had tried to walk.  On the way, we saw his two best friends, and picked them up so that they could not freeze as well.

As we approached the final turn near the High school, we witnessed an accident.

This intersection is atop a small ridge that runs for several miles, winding through Eden Prairie.  So the road we were waiting to turn onto has a steep incline on either side.  There is a yellow double line for "no passing" down the middle of it on both sides.

Of course, someone JUST HAD to try to pass the person in front of them.  After all, who wants to be stuck behind someone doing the speed limit in a school zone?  THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY after all, and if you can't speed while passing in a "no passing zone" in the middle of an intersection...well then, the terrorists have already won.

Naturally, this being rush hour near the largest high school in the state, there was a car coming the other way.

The jackass thankfully avoided the impending head-on collision by swerving into the guy next to him...forcing him to collide with the car on my street that was waiting to turn left, and effectivly bunging up the whole intersection.  All three vehicles sustained a surprising amount of damage.  One of them lost a wheel.

I eased into the right-turning lane, and took an alternate route.  I got the boys safely to school just in the nick of time, and then drove back, intending to offer my witness information to the responding officer.  However, there was not yet and officer on the scene, and I saw at least two subsequent fender-benders as hurried and inattentive drivers failed to realize that traffice was impede at that intersection.

I decided that the only value I could add to the situation would be negative.  Normally, I'm all about offering witness information if I have it because when I was in my accident, it absolutely in no uncertain terms helped me refute the other person's account, and saved me a lot of trouble.

However, in this case, it just would have added to the snarl.  Besides, It's a slam-dunk as to who is at fault.

But one thing I will carry away from this today:  No matter what happens to me today, no matter what befalls me, nor how many mistakes I make nor how many things I say which I might regret later...

...at least I can go through my day knowing that I'm not a selfish prick with a high-end SUV who thinks nothing of risking other people's life-and-limb pulling multiple bone-headed traffic violations.

And that ain't nothin'.  It's only up from there!