Rudes of the Road

[Originally posted April 27, 2005]

Experts say that it takes about 2 years for a new driver to learn how to REALLY control a vehicle and start to become a decent defense driver. That is why insurance costs of teens are higher than the average person. Teens are more likely to have those minor accidents that cause costly repairs as they learn the true mechanism of controlling a vehicle in motion. My kids as early drivers would give me this look as if to say with a sarcastic sneer 'Oh, really?' when I would try to explain that good driving meant you had to internalize the physics of motion, to become one with your automobile in a zen sort of way, in order to drive well. I am sure that they later realized what I meant as they became good drivers.

Driving well does not mean that you never make mistakes. It just means that you know enough to reduce the risks of damage to both yourself and your vehicle. I know of no one that has never had a minor accident. Accidents happen whether due to road conditions, faulty equipment in the car, momentary inattentiveness, a little too much to drink, not enough rest, slightly slower response time, unfamiliarity with the road, poor road maintenance, lack of signage or upkeep, or, of course, the other driver.

I have seen a lot of poor drivers in the past. Funny incredulous stories about what drivers have been seen doing fill up e-mails and make good diner conversation. I have seen drivers read while driving, a book propped up on the steering wheel. I have seen drivers applying make-up and doing nails while driving. I have seen drivers driving with one foot stuck out the driver's side window. You get the picture. And I haven't even touched on the cell phone issue.

I also know that when I see someone driving badly, it could be worse. I lived in Puerto Rico for two years where poor driving skills is an honored art form. I've also driven in Mexico where 'stop' in not in the driving vocabulary. And have witnessed driving in many European countries such as in France where lanes are arbitrary. Driving in Iowa is also fairly sedate compared to big city America. It is only when I drive into an urban environment that my New York raised driving self emerges and I become a more aggressive, high alert style person, zipping in and out of traffic like I'm in the Indy 500. Recently however, I have noticed a change in local driver habits. I have observed more drivers who drive with an aggressive, get out of my way, I am the only important vehicle on the road attitude. Tailgating is on the increase. So is cutting off other vehicles by weaving in and out of traffic. Some drivers seem to think that the 'right turn on red light allowed' law means that cross-traffic must give way to their coasting through the intersection right-turns. Jumping lights is on the increase as is beating the light changes at intersections. In over 40 years as a driver, I have witness directly in front of me 3 intersection collisions, all were over the past 2 years. And don't get me on the lack of courtesy shown other drivers by drivers talking on their cell phones while at the wheel.

It is not that some drivers don't know the rules of the road. It seems that they purposely ignore them as if the rules do not apply to them. So to all of these people who are accidents waiting to happen, I suggest this web site: 'How to Drive Like a Moron' at http://www.doggiesnot.com/.