Keller @ Large: Snow Brings Out Selfish, Lazy Drivers
BOSTON (CBS) - I saw him at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon on Soldiers Field Road, a guy in a white Mercedes speeding along in search of an accident to cause.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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The snow had only been falling for an hour or so, just enough to cover your car with a light coating. It had taken me about 30 seconds worth of minor effort to clear my car.
But even this was apparently too much for Mr. Mercedes, who we'll call Public Enemy Number One for short.
He had only bothered to clear a small space on his windshield directly in front of the steering wheel, but his complete inability to see out the sides or back of his car wasn't stopping him from speeding on the slippery road.
At one point he slowed down, and I pulled up alongside and gave him my best dirty look. Hard to tell if he saw me, due to his extremely limited visibility, but right afterwards I saw him raise and lower his side windows in an apparent effort to clear some of the snow off them.
We can only hope that enough snow leaked in to spoil his fine Corinthian leather seats.
I know I deliver this same rant every year, but the practice of failing to make a minimal effort to clear your car of snow is a pet peeve of mine for good reason.
It speaks to the toxic combination of selfishness and laziness in some of our fellow citizens, a laughing matter only until he or she causes the accident that involves your car.
This can't be written off to sheer ignorance. You can actually go online and read detailed instructions of how to clear snow from your car, if it's too complex to dope out on your own.
"Stand on one side of the car. Using a long-handled snow scraper, push the snow on the roof of the car as far to the other side as you can reach. Once the roof is mostly clear, continue pushing the snow on the rear window, trunk, windshield and hood."
And so on.
Did you take notes on that?
It looks like a long, snowy winter ahead.
Let's pledge to bring all the dirty looks and ridicule we can muster to bear on the snowy-car people, in the hope that shame can do what their tiny brains cannot.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
