Traffic, Traffic, Everywhere - 2

I have been fascinated by driving for a long time. When I was a youngster, I used to observe drivers' hands, and longed for the day when I would be able to drive.

Over the last 50 years -- in fact, since I have had a driver's license -- I have enjoyed driving, loved the excitement of the 'open road,' which one summer took me all the way to Victoria, B.C.
I have braved the rigours of driving in bad weather, even foggy nights and winter storms, and have survived driving on narrow roads, dirt roads, and 'no roads!'
Until recently, that is, when driving has lost some of its allure.
It has been said that one of the guiding principles behind 'Defensive Driving' ciourses is that you assume that all the other drivers are idiots, and are going to do the wrong thing!
Wise words.

Traffic, Traffic, Everywhere

Just last week, I was complaining about the traffic congestion and construction around here.
We were driving in Halifax, where the usual post-vacation traffic was in full swing, and where almost every artery is having some kind of work done on it.

Here in Bedford, there is major construction activity: just to the south of us, housing for about 40,000 folks who are being added to our population is under construction, and to our west, a brand-new $40 million high school (for 1300 students) has just opened. The streets and roads can barely keep up with the new traffic demands.
During my driving career, I have experienced many kinds of traffic. As a new driver here in Nova Scotia, I loved nothing better than the 'lure of the open road.' I enjoyed highway driving in almost all conditions: from sunny summer afternoons