Just thought you should know

So, I was driving to work the other day. It was a normal, every day trip: I proceeded onto the ramp that takes me onto Rt. 422. Now, 422 at rush hour is a bit of a mess. Traffic on 422 itself can be heavy or light. But the ramp is alwasy bumper to bumper as people try to take the 270-degree ramp into the speeding traffic of the road.

It was then that I heard the siren.

Now, the ramp to 422 is pretty isolated, so I had a hunch the siren was coming my way, but a quick check in the old rear-view confirmed - ambulance.

I wasn't sure of the protocal. Do you go toward the inside of the ramp, or the outside? I apparently wasn't the only one, because we split about 75/25, with 75 going outside with me.

I watched the ambulance weave its way through the completely stopped and scattered traffic, pass me, and weave again. Then, on refocusing in front me me, I saw it: The entirity of traffic on 422 had come to a complete stop.

Now, 422 curves at the point I'm talking about, which adds to the traffic nightmare, I think, and made it tough for me figure out just how many cars had stopped. And the wonder of it all shocked me enough that I didn't pay as good attention as I know wish I had.

Still, trust me when I say it was probably 40 cars lined up on 422.

Maybe not all of them wanted to stop. Perhaps some guy 5 cars back was peeved and wanted to still be going 60 but couldn't because the guy in the front stopped. I don't know.

All I know is that, on this particular day, some 50 or 60 cars pulled off of ramps and stopped cold on a highway to allow an ambulance as clear a path as possible.

Next time someone (or you) doubts human nature/kindness, just keep this this in mind.