Mind Your Road Manners!
I’ve been reading about some of the horrible automotive accidents that have occurred in this area lately and it got me to thinking about how some people act while behind the wheel. For example, I was on my way back home from an appointment in Houston one day and I could see a guy weaving in and out of traffic behind me. As a considerate driver I did not stand in his way as he passed me, but when he attempted to pass the car in front of me the back end of his car glanced off the front end of the car he was passing. This caused him to spin out and he hit the concrete barrier on the right, overcorrected, and hit the concrete barrier on the left totaling the car. I don’t know where he was going, but I’m sure he was not going to be on time. All of this just to save a few minutes, or seconds. What a waste.
I took a physics class in college as one of the two science classes required as a history major several years ago, but I remember a particular lesson the professor presented about speed. He said that to “save” 10 minutes on a road trip, you would need a sustained speed of over 100 miles an hour for a minimum of 60 minutes. That’s never slowing down off of the 100 MPH for the entire time at any instance. If I am way off with my numbers, please remember that this was over 30 years ago. The point is you can’t really “save” a great amount of time by driving faster. Just leave home earlier and don’t put yourself or other drivers in danger.
I have been accused of driving like a grandpaw more than once and I wear it as a badge of honor. I consider myself a very defensive driver – almost to a fault according to my wife, but that’s how I am. For a long time while travelling I would “go with the flow” of traffic, but that requires too many lane changes, acceleration, deceleration, and it just bothered me. So, now I set the cruise control on the speed limit – maybe a few miles over – stay in the right lane and let everyone pass me. Give it a try – you’ll like it. Driving like this relaxes me and I can sit back and enjoy the ride.
Good driving habits don’t happen overnight, though. It takes time to learn the subtle nuances of how vehicles act on the road. And how other drivers act on the road. Road rage is a big problem these days and it seems that people’s personalities change when they get behind the wheel. I can’t tell you how many times I have been tailgated by someone in a huge truck supposedly to get me to drive faster. The only thing is that once they pass me, most times they don’t drive any faster than they were before. They just wanted to be in front. Rude. When I’m in my sports car I can out drive just about any other person on the road any time I want, but I don’t. It’s just too dangerous and to what end? To teach someone a lesson or to prove myself as the superior driver? No. It’s just not worth it.
So, mind your manners, folks. Slow down and enjoy the ride. If you want to get somewhere sooner, leave earlier. As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it”.
The column represents the thoughts and opinions of Alan Shoalmire. Opinion columns are NOT the opinion of the Navasota Examiner.
Alan Shoalmire is a resident in Grimes County and the owner of Grill Sergeant Hotdogs and submits a column to the Navasota Examiner every other week.