Fed Up
A Story about the Rules
Amy inched up to the white line as she watched the last car in the oncoming lane cross the intersection. She knew she was next. She’d just missed the green arrow when she’d arrived at the intersection, so she’d made it through an entire cycle. It had taken a few minutes – long enough to make it through “As My Guitar Slowly Weeps.” This was the longest light in the town.
But then, instead of giving her a green arrow, Amy saw the lights to her right and left turn green. They’d skipped her! There wasn’t even a flashing light indicating an emergency vehicle coming, which would at least have been a justified reason to skip her.
Before any of the cars in the crossing lanes had time to go, Amy stomped on the gas. She raced through the intersection, turning left against a stale red light. As she sped away, she noticed a cop car pull out of a donut shop and into her lane. He flipped on the lights.
As she looked for a place to pull over, Amy tried to decide if the universe had it in for her today or if it really was just random bad luck. Eventually, she found a tire shop and turned into the parking lot.
She rolled down the window and waited for the cop. He took his time getting over to her window. She passed the time guessing whether he’d be friendly or mean.
“Hands where I can see them,” he said. Probably mean. She kept her hands on the wheel.
“Do you know why I pulled you over?” he asked.
“Because I turned left against a red light,” she replied.
“So, you were aware that you were breaking the law? You made a conscious decision to break the law?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Why did you decide to make that decision?” he asked.
“It wasn’t fair!” she said.
“Excuse me, ma’am? What wasn’t fair?”
“I was supposed to get a green arrow. I waited my turn like everybody else. I’ve driven through that intersection a thousand times. It’s on a timer. There’s no plate under the road. Every time, the cycle goes: cross traffic gets to go, then they get red, then the oncoming lane there gets green, then they get red and I get green and can turn. Today, I didn’t get a green arrow. I waited four minutes. I wasn’t going to wait another four minutes. I need to get home!”
“What do you need to get home for?” asked the officer.
“I have a life,” Amy said.