I got my license at 16 and am now 22, so I cannot claim a very long driving experience. But what I experienced on the road recently must surely be astounding by any measure.

At about 11 30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 10, I was driving to the Stop & Shop in Montville. My father was visiting from out of state and was riding shotgun. We were stopped at the light on Golden Street, facing Route 32, directly across from the Stop & Shop gas station.

The traffic light directing my lane of traffic turned green. Still, I looked to make sure no cars would run through the red light from my left.

Sure enough, one did. (Guess Ma was right when she lectured, "You never take off right away.") And then another car ran the red. And another. And another! Four cars ran through the red light!

Older but not wiser

This was on Route 32, not a 25-mph side street. A collision would probably have been fatal. The first driver was a middle-aged female. The next one seemed middle-aged, but I'm not even sure which gender. However, I was able to note a commonality among all four drivers - none was a twenty-something. Though it may sound as though I am being biased, those are the facts.

As soon as this all happened, I looked up at the light above Route 32 to consider a horrifying possibility: Had there been some mechanical - or digital - failure that turned my traffic light green but left the traffic light green on Route 32 also? No.

As it turns out, the light on Route 32 was very red: The error was human. Was it some unevolved herd instinct that led them all to ignore the light? Or was it all an unimaginable parade of contempt for the law and human life? I'll never know.

What I do know is this: An abundance of caution on my part saved terrible consequences that moment.

Capture the moment?

I am notifying the proper authorities of Montville about this incident. It would be a good idea to put a camera at that intersection, and an occasional police patrol.

Finally, the straw that broke the camel's back remains to be told. As I sat astonished and horrified at the light, behind me a woman kept honking her horn. A cigarette drooped from her chops and she had a cell phone pressed to her ear.

She seemed ignorant of comprehending what was going on. She just tooted away, distracted and angry. (Was she a metaphor for what America has become of late?)

Had she been in my place, she would have driven incautiously into mayhem.

Editor's note: The writer resides in Uncasville.