Driving in Israel is back. Not “back” like your favorite café finally reopened. Back like a toddler with a marker next to a white leather couch. The ceasefire arrives, and immediately the traffic returns to its natural ecosystem consisting of a loud, impatient, deeply personal argument conducted at 90 km/h with turn signals considered as an optional extra.

There are two additional types of drivers now, and both of them are a biproduct of the crazy times we’re living in.

First, the ballistic missiles dodgers. These drivers have looked at the post-ceasefire roads and decided, ‘yes, this is a modern-day Frogger and I am the frog’. They drive like the car is a secret classified mission and everyone else is either an obstacle or a suspicious collaborator. They weave from lane to lane at superhuman speed, not because they’re late (even though they are), but because the lane they’re in has simply become too slow. They flash the car in front like they’re sending Morse code. Move. Move now. Move because I have decided my destiny is one lane to the left and your existence is administrative.

It’s incredible to watch, in the same way it’s incredible to watch someone carry a full pot of soup down a staircase while texting. You don’t want to look, but you can’t not look.

Then you have the cautious driver. This person drives with the quiet knowledge of where the nearest bomb shelter is at all times, which means they’re ready to stop at minimal notice, ideally at zero notice, preferably in the middle of whatever........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)