The Blind Spot

There are certain things a person learns and never forgets. One thing that stands out in my mind was said by a Drivers Ed teacher in ninth grade Civics class. He said "Always be aware of the blind spot!" In relation to driving it just means that there is a spot next to the vehicle where traffic cannot be seen. Not in the rear view mirror. Not in the side view mirror. You must turn your head and see what is next to you, especially when changing lanes. This week while driving I was almost sideswiped, not once, but twice, by drivers who didn't check the blind spot. The first incident occurred while driving west on Venice Avenue near my home. I was in the left lane and a woman proceeded to turn right onto the avenue but instead of entering the closest lane she swung wide into my lane. What?? She couldn't see me? I quickly moved my car to the left to avoid hitting her and in doing so I went up onto the center median about half the width of my car. Fortunately, the curb was slanted at a 45 degree angle and I didn't blow out the tires. When I composed myself I laid it on the horn to make her aware of the near miss. She knew. She looked sheepish but she never acknowledged her mistake. She just turned off at the next exit and kept going. I am not a road rager so I just let it pass. But I thought about it. Yes, I was seething. Two days later I was travelling east on this very same street and this time a male driver who was trying to weave his way through traffic swerved over into my lane and came within inches of my car before he realized I was there and he quickly moved back into his lane. I pulled ahead a little and this time I had the opportunity to stare the driver down. We looked at each other eye to eye. His face seemed to be made of stone as no expression was detected. Again no apology. No look of remorse. He continued to weave through traffic but never really got ahead. We met up several times at various traffic signals. What a mess. So.....back to the blind spot. Is it something we can't see or is it something we choose not to see? Are we just too lazy to look? Or too arrogant? Or just plain forgetful? I can still hear my teacher reminding us about the blind spot. I always look. I don't want to cause an accident in such a way. I don't want to scare people as I was scared. Everything ended alright. Life is good again. I'm still driving on Venice Avenue. But,please, folks.....remember the blind spot. I'm just sayin'.