"What's Your Hurry" - J Geils Band, 1970

I don't know what was wrong with everybody this morning. I'm not exactly a pokey driver; in fact, I'm known for having a bit of a lead foot. But nearly everybody wanted to race past me this morning at light speed, as I made my commute from home into the Oxford-area park and ride.

Even someone I would have expected to drive rationally -- because of the type of car he was in (a Saab) -- wildly passed me, on a narrow stretch of the A4260, at what must have been at least 90 mph. And a crazy driver in a navy blue VW Golf flung himself into the right lane and whizzed around about 10 cars in a busy residential section of Kidlington without being the least bit concerned about any cross-traffic or cyclists he might encounter.

Now people in our part of Oxfordshire do tend to drive a little fast for conditions. I've noticed that ever since moving up there in the spring of 2003. One of my former neighbors once told me that he figures it's because of the legacy of car racing in our part of England. Maybe.

Anyway, this morning's experience was particularly strange. The only car that didn't pass me -- and I was doing about 65mph in a 60 zone -- was a strange grass-green Hyundai people-carrier sort of thing. (You know the type -- a tall, skinny vehicle with tires so narrow that you wonder how the thing manages any contact with the road surface at all.) He stuck right behind me during all 14 miles of my trip. He must have liked my little blue Audi's back end.

So I've been pondering what was going on this morning. Was it because it wasn't raining (for once)? Was it the phase of the moon, perhaps? Did we have a tailwind that I didn't notice?

Ahhhh...I think I know. It's Friday. And everybody was just rushing toward the weekend!

But perhaps I need to slip on my crash-helmet for protection while driving home this evening, just in case.

Janet