Let’s Talk Driving

What a beautiful drive on my way to work this morning. Sadly, the photos don’t do it justice. Of course taking them behind a dirty glass doesn’t help! FYI, my daughter snapped these while I was driving.

I didn’t get my license until I was 18 years old and pregnant with my first child. I even failed the first time and had to take a second time. I don’t claim to be the best driver. In fact, I tell people all the time that I’m not a great driver. I hate backing up so I avoid it as much as possible. I don’t enjoy parallel parking so try to avoid it as well. I can’t see very well at night therefore, I try to do all my errands before dark so I can be home when darkness falls. I don’t like traffic so avoid high-traffic times most of the time.

My weakness – a heavy foot. I want to get there and I want to get there now. I probably drive faster than I should.

However, I try to be a courteous driver. I use my turn signals. I don’t tailgate – I scold my husband for doing this when riding with him & my husband is a great driver! I don’t cut people off. Traffic is scary to me so I don’t try to squeeze in between vehicles while driving. Thus, the reason I don’t like parallel parking! But, as I said, I am not a great driver. I just try to be a courteous driver. At some point or another, I do these things I’ve said above. I try really hard to not make them habits. Again, traffic scares me. Traffic accidents scare me. My kids getting hurt or worse in a traffic accident scares me. Hurting someone else in a car accident scares me. If you’ve been keeping up with me then you know ALOT scares me since we lost my son almost 5 years ago.

So, courtesy while driving is the name of the game.

Other people are not always so courteous and it annoys the patience right out of me. One such uncourteous driver did exactly that this morning – annoyed the patience right out of me. Nothing boils my blood faster while driving than a semi pulling a tractor trailer cutting me off!. Man o man, my teeth gritting and hands clenching the wheel, and cursing under my breath sometimes out loud, lol. It frustrates the heck outta me when I’m the only car coming and a big rig pulls out in front of me when (s)he doesn’t have time to get up to speed. But then to make matters worse, said driver putzes along and doesn’t even try to get up to speed!

I just want to know why. Why do drivers do this? It’s rude! It’s uncourteous! And it can be dangerous! Stupid drivers!

Semi’s are the worst! They are so big and think they own the road. Yes, I get it. I get that they are dangerous and people shouldn’t put a semi in a precarious situation because, more likely than not, the semi will come out of it unscathed. However, semi’s shouldn’t put others in precarious situations either.

Another pet peeve – motorcyclists. Don’t get me wrong, we all need to be watching out for motorcyclists. Their size can be just as much a hindrance for the driver as their size can be a help. The motorcycle can maneuver in places where others vehicles cannot. Drivers understand that motorcyclists are harder to see. For this reason, vehicle drivers should be extra cautious in warmer weather and/or warmer climates. However, cautiousness does not only fall to the vehicle (truck, car, semi, etc) drivers. In fact, as the motorcycle driver, the (wo)man behind the handlebars should be more cautious than everyone. We are all responsible for own our safety, but through courteous and safe driving skills we also make it safe for other drivers no matter their mode of transportation.

One given rule in driving – the bigger the vehicle, the more stopping time/distance it needs.

Respect and courtesy go a long way while driving so may you all practice each of these virtues in your travels today.

Thanks for reading. See you back here tomorrow!

Find your reason to smile & keep smiling
~ Shannon ~