There was nearly an accident

yesterday. A car had passed me rather too fast in the short street I turn into from our short street. There is a "T" junction at the end of it. 
Now the normal driver will, at very least, slow almost to a stop. The good driver will actually stop and look for other traffic before proceeding. 
This idiot did not. There were cars parked on both sides of the next street and it was sheer good luck that a woman coming at a much more reasonable speed was able to avoid those, mount the footpath and avoid the idiot. He sped on along the wrong side of the road. She came to a halt and rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment before going on. She was within a few inches of hitting a "stobie" pole - our local concrete and steel poles which carry power. Had she actually hit it the damage would have been severe and she might well have been seriously injured.
I travelled with even greater care than usual for the rest of the journey wondering if the idiot would have even noticed an accident. Somehow I doubt he would have stopped.
I want to know why people "hurry" so much. It is something that genuinely puzzles me. I like to be "on time" if I have an appointment or have arranged to meet friends. I try not to be late. Middle Cat is notorious for being late. Youngest Nephew says there is "Ordinary Time, Greek Time and Mum Time" - by "Greek Time" he means the general delay in his extended paternal family, all of  whom tend to be "late" rather than "on time". That his mother is worse than this is, as she admits herself, true.
So,  if you need to hurry, what have you been doing? Are you just trying to do too much? Is there something you didn't need to do but did anyway? Was there simply something you wanted to do first because it was more pleasant - or did you want to get something unpleasant out of the way?
I know. I am guilty too. We all are at some time or other. I really don't understand the apparently almost constant need to hurry on the part of some people. 
As I have been writing this I have been able to see a workman on the roof next door. He has been removing the solar panels prior to replacing the roof altogether. He has been working methodically, carefully and steadily. The panels are now down safely. I wonder whether he would have completed the job in a shorter time if he had tried to rush it? I doubt it. He might also have damaged the panels - or had an accident.