several years ago - had i not been there and seen this first hand i wouldn't have believed it either - i was on an airport shuttle.

on the bumper-to-bumper 405 in the san fernando valley heading towards lax.

i did not hear the conversation, but saw a passenger approach the driver and convince him to stop - we were already stopped, and had been for several minutes - and open the door.

this guy then runs across three lanes of stopped traffic and disappears down off the side of the freeway.

driver closes the door and moves ahead when he has to.

several minutes later a cheer from the passengers goes up as the guy reappears, runs across the three lanes of traffic and reenters the shuttle.

we hadn't moved forward but about 50'.

the rest of the drive was uneventful.

when you gotta go - you gotta go.