Driving at night is one of the more
perilous things a man can do. I hadn’t given it much thought before, but there
are many numerous obstacles added to the normal driving hazards at daytime: Not
being able to see far ahead, blinding lights from oncoming traffic, and confusion
in the blind spot area, and the worst external pressure of all, drunk drivers.
I fully appreciate the consequences
of driving at night, especially after having a few drinks. Even one beer will
impair one’s ability to judge a situation rationally, and you need all of your
capacities intact to do something Yesterday I came face-to-face with that realization
when I didn’t realize I needed to be in the other lane at the 170-101 fork and
tried to get over, only to realize the driver behind me was doing the same
thing, and had beaten me to it. Not sure whether the driver would try to
overtake me or give me room to make the turn, I waffled in the lane for a
second or so and could not determine from the lights and mirrors whether the
driver was already in my blind spot and passing or was letting me go in front.
By this time I had already passed the fork point and was now in the shoulder
zone, the “in-between spot” between 2 lanes, which I wouldn’t have been had it
been daytime and I could make a quicker decision. Eventually I passed into the
lane, but by then a highway cruiser had already witnessed my activity and flashed
his lights instructing me to pull over. Fortunately (and I felt very relieved)
I was let go without a warning, but not before a lecture on driving as well as
a field sobriety test of the pen variety.
The
field sobriety test, as I understand, is something that officers do at night
when pulling drivers over “just to make sure” they hadn’t been drinking. On
this particular night (Saturday) I had in fact had alcohol earlier in the
night, but an insignificant amount. Still, that didn’t stop me from being
slightly concerned when being subjected to the test, not for the slight chance
that I might fail the test but the devastating consequences (DUI, arrest, etc.,
permanent record flashed into my head) in the off chance. The field sobriety
test, as I understand it, is also ultimately a subjective test, where the
officer notes the “totality of the circumstances” and checks for various signs
that you have been drinking, and it can really vary due to the officer. Luckily
due to my following instructions and proper driving techniques during the
pullover process the officer let me go without a warning, but it certainly will
make me think twice about drinking (AT ALL) before driving ever again, just to
avoid the terror.
So far in 10 years of driving, I’ve been pulled over on the
road twice: both times at night, and both times due to the inherent perils of
driving. Once was failure to yield to emergency vehicle (didn’t see it until it
was too late), and yesterday.
1.)
Matt Carpenter: No. 1 favorite player, batting
like .325 at the top of a loaded Cardinals lineup on pace for like 120 R’s.
2.)
Eric Young Jr.: Hated by most of the fantasy community, ever since he got to the Mets he’s been
batting at the top of the lineup and tries to steal every time.
3.)
Michael Young: the opposite of young, he’s and
old guy but can steal hit.
4.)
Bronson Arroyo: famous for having A-rod slap the
ball out of his hand in ALCS 2004, he’s really become a wily veteran in his
older years.
5.)
Alfonso Soriano: still has the ability to take
over a team’s offense for weeks in a row.
6.)
Greg Holland: probably the best closer in the
world right now. Yea I said it, better than Kimbrel, better than Chapman.
7.)
Ichiro!- batting in front of Robinson Cano
certainly helps a singles hitter, also the run production.
8.)
Eric Stults: where did this guy come from? I always
thought he was just a knuckleball specialist. Apparently not.
I have promised myself 4 days of no baseball during the All-Star break. I encourage fantasy baseball and baseball enthusiasts to do the same. It's a long season. Starts now!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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