Just when you come to believe you may be wrong about Atlanta having the worse drivers in the world something happens that makes you know you are right.

It appears someone at the throttle of a Delta 737 was taxing the plane to check its engines and ran off the runway at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and halfway down an embankment.

Now that’s bad driving.

The cause was reported to be mechanical and bad brakes, which does not help one’s confidence thinking about getting on a plane that may fly okay but will not stop when you land.

Of course, if it was just bad driving there is no way anyone will make that admission.  Atlanta has the lousiest drivers in the civilized world but you can never find anyone who will admit to being one.

You just have to hope the guy at the throttle of the 737 wasn’t talking on a cell phone or texting someone his brackets for March Madness.

Had the plane gone on down the hill it might have ended up on the expressway, which would have backed-up traffic even more than usual but resulted in a great phone call to work.

“Boss, I’m going to be late getting in this morning.”

“Why?”

“Ah, some yahoo in a 737 sideswiped a chicken truck and traffic is backed up for miles.”

“Uh, okay.”

The Boss would have to give you that one.  And pity the poor HERO truck driver that shows up thinking someone has a flat tire.

I have a friend who is truly a horrible driver, and for all the right reasons. He is one of those folks who must to use his hands and look at you when he talks, which is okay in a bar but not good when zipping down the road.

Watching him talk on a cell phone, even when not driving, was high comedy because he could never figure out how to wave his arms around while talking and keep the phone to his ear.

He finally got one of those ear piece devices but the inevitable happened when he was on a rant about something and while trying to make his point augered into a ditch. No one was hurt but when the police officer asked how it happened he gave the greatest response of all time: I don’t know.

Of course, everyone who knows him knew.  When in his company no one allows him to drive anymore, not even the golf cart after that unfortunate incident involving the creek.

But Spring is about to be upon us, although it has been Spring-like for a while, but despite many people thinking it is winter with ice and snow that causes the worse driving conditions it is actually Spring and Summer.

Not only do people revel in the weather and pay less attention than usual, we can be besieged with a sudden thunderstorm that makes walking to the mailbox perilous much less driving on the expressway.

Astonishingly, some people will not even slow down and when they roar around you, you know they can’t see any better than you can and you can’t see at all. The wall of water they throw up on your windshield makes matters worse.
And it is amazing how many yahoos will simply drive along in a downpour without their lights on, even though it is against the law.

Thunderstorms on top of generally bad driving create a combination more dangerous than Kim Kardashian and anybody.
So it is inevitable in the coming weeks we will see more examples of the concept of physics that two solid objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

They will not be accidents: they will be wrecks, wrecks caused by someone either doing something they should not be doing, like texting while driving, or not doing something they should be doing, like turning their lights on. This is the time of the year to be extra careful.

But no matter how bad things get on the next commute just remember it could always be worse: you could be behind a 737 pileup.

Ric Latarski is a freelance writer who writes on a variety of topics and can be reached at Rlatarski@aol.com.