Why Make Driving Here A Living Hell On Wheels?

It didn’t surprise me to read that one feuding motorist sprayed another with a possibly toxic substance in December. This was an extreme - though unjustified - action taken by someone apparently fed up.

Driving in Spokane lately is dangerous. I’ve experienced some interesting situations that reflect this.

On the day before Thanksgiving, a crazy shopping day on its own, I went to the Rosauers store on the South Hill to pick up a few more things for our dinner. As I was getting out of the car, I observed a commotion over a parking space. Apparently, two women both wanted the same one.

The woman who wasn’t quick enough got out of her car, proceeded to the van that had pulled in and taken her spot, and was cursing. The other woman was angry, too, and had her window rolled down to shout back.

Then the first woman spit on her, but she couldn’t do anything back because she was seat-belted in her van with the motor going. Would this spit be considered toxic spray?

Early last month, I was in my car on Division at Magnesium, waiting for the light to change, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a young man lean out of his truck window and blast my window with McDonald’s tartar sauce packets.

My two children and I were startled, naturally. As I turned to get a closer look at what hit me, the small blue pickup sped away through the turn lane.

My short delay in accelerating as the light turned green caused an accident two and three cars behind me. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Then, on a recent Sunday evening, I was driving home on Interstate 90, again with my children in the back seat. I was going 60 mph and had pulled into the lefthand lane to pass a slower car.

In my rearview mirror I saw a smaller, blue car approaching quickly from behind. I finished passing the other vehicle and moved back into the right lane. As the blue car sped past me, the young person in the front seat flipped me off. Hello! What did I do? Am I not allowed on the freeway?

This was a car full of five or six teenagers who obviously needed a lesson or two about manners while driving.

Driving in Spokane lately is a dangerous occupation. Whatever happened to courteous behavior?

Come on, people, is all this rudeness necessary?

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.