Make Way - Coming Through!

Today was murder out there.
I don't know if it is because all the kids are out of school or if parents are taking vacations and are on the roads but the traffic today was evening rush hour all day long!

As a Driver, I have to not only check all the stops for passengers to pick up, and drop off; not only keep an eye out for kiddos, pets, random people running out or crossing the street; not only look out for bicyclists, trains and weather....
But I also have to keep a safe distance between the cars around me, keep "exit strategies" updated every few seconds, watch traffic lights and flows and do all this while keeping on schedule, SAFELY.

On top of all this, I'm driving a 22 to 33 ton missile.
Not counting the passengers, the buses range from 43 feet to 60 some odd feet and from 22 to 33 tons.
And we're a bit hard to miss cruising down the road.
At speed, it takes me at least a football field to come to a stop.
I maintain a safe distance between the car in front of me and the bus to accommodate this stopping distance.

So now y'all have a good idea of about 40% of what is going through the mind of a driver at any given second that he's behind the wheel.
Another thought he's having is that he's not going to slam on the brakes because he's the only person wearing a seat belt.
Slam on the brakes in a bus and you'll get 100 of your closest friends to join you up against the windshield.
All cozy and snuggly like.

Other than attracking all my friends, slamming on the brakes is still pretty usless as the bus still needs nearly two hundred feet to come to a stop from just 35 miles an hour.

All this to say:
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING CUTTING ME OFF THEN SLAMMING ON YOUR BRAKES IN TRAFFIC?

LOL
Did you not see the big white 33 ton missile barreling down the road on top of you?
Hitting you in the tail end would scratch the front of my bus and get me fired.
Hitting you in the tail end would seriously ruin your day, week, year and maybe your life.
Is that extra second you earned before you parked in front of me at the same red light, is it really worth it?

Can you see my 100 closest friends all crammed up at the front of the bus with me, all giving you the "You're Number One" hand signs?

Of course I can't say this when I'm driving or on the clock.
But c'mon, really?
Have you not been watching the news?
Going toe to toe with the bus is a no win situation.

Please Please PLEASE - don't cut me off.
If I did that to you, you'd be on the phone with my boss in a second, telling him what a jerk driver I am.
And I agree, if I did that to you I'd be a jerk.
So what's that say about the guy doing it to me?

Please?
I'm asking you, help me be safe.
Help us all be safe.

We all want to make it to work and back home again.
Just look for the big white street whale and make way, I'm coming through!

Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!