Why Does a Squirrel

Why does a squirrel,
halfway across
the leaf-scattered asphalt,
with a car approaching,
stop--
freeze--
turn--
and scamper back
the way it came,
dead in the path
of the oncoming monstrosity,
instead of running onward
--the coast clear--
toward the prize
of a safe
destination?

Answer that and
then run onward
(if you can)
to this question:
Why are so many of us
like these squirrels?