Wayne Weekly “Braking On One Light”
Written by Teddy on July 21, 2016
Traveling from home to work for me is generally pleasurable…well, except sometimes in the winter. My ride is mostly rural, only running into stop signals and some summertime congested tourist traffic in Skaneateles.
This morning was pretty smooth motoring as I tailed a Honda SUV into the village. The driver signaled to make a left hand turn and then applied the brakes. I immediately noticed that the vehicle only had one brake light functioning, the right side. The left brake light and the center brake lights were out.
Have you ever thought that you should somehow tell a fellow driver that you see a problem with their vehicle, but just dismiss it and go on your way? I’ve done that. I remember following a truck with a chain dragging shooting out sparks as the metal wore on the highway pavement. I could beep my horn or flash my lights. The driver would pull over and I could give the motorist a “heads-up”. But it never happened. He eventually turned down another road and I never was to be “the traveling roadway good Samaritan”.
Not this time. I followed the woman driver into the spa parking lot (other people were out and about), I parked my car, walked over to her vehicle and gently rapped on the side of her Honda. I was afraid I might startle her so I did not immediately approach her window. She spotted me, opened her window and the opportunity to be a Good Samaritan had arrived. “Just want to let you know you have only one working brake light and if that goes out someone could hit you from behind”, I said, “plus, you could get a ticket.” With a surprised look the middle aged women hopped out of the car and walked to the back obviously wanting me to clarify my observation. After repeating myself, the driver with a super concerned look on her face said, “thank you”, I will have it taken care of.
Operating a vehicle without adequate brake warning is certainly dangerous to others on the road. When a “vehicle of sin” pulls out in front of our path, it often displays little or no warnings that it’s attempting to stop us dead in our path. We stand a chance to ram right into a perilous situation. You don’t tailgate sin. You stay a distance away. You give yourself ample time to slow and make a complete stop before a tragic union. Sin has a way to lure us in for a close follow, slams on its brake and waits for our bumpers to connect.
As we motor the road of life, watch out for obvious brake lights, but be keenly aware of the dimly lit sin ahead. Guard your hearts.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Proverbs 4:23 NLT
