i spend a good majority of my day behind the wheel, driving around this great metropolitan sprawl known as Chicagoland. i'm not a driver (delivery or other) but i do spend more time behind the wheel sometimes than i do at any of the various appointments i have during the day.
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now patience is not one of my strong points; at my wedding Eli gave an amazing speech and outed me as an "angry driver". i will say that in the last 15+ years or so of being a licensed vehicle operator i have mellowed out.... a small bit. as every driver believes, i think i am a great driver and follow the rules of the road as established by the Secretary of State of Illinois. so great in fact that i will educate those who are not in the know or may need a refresher. here are a few examples.
1. Car manufacturers put turn signals right next to the steering wheel for a reason. when you want to make a left or a right turn, flip the switch down to indicate to other drivers on the road you will be making a left, and flip it up to indicate a right.
a) By not indicating you are going to make a turn, you are likely to spark the ire of all the drivers behind you, if not get rear ended.
b) using a turn signal is not an option- not using one is a ticketable offence. so please use them!
2. the posted maximum speed limit is usually posted every 3-5 miles on any given road. if you live in Chicago and are driving on any of the expressways, the speed limit is merely a suggestion and should really be looked at as a posted minimum speed limit. honestly i don't care if you speed or not, but at least do the speed limit, and if you are going to follow the speed limit as a maximum guideline- STAY OUT OF THE LEFT LANE - again, doing the speed limit or less in the left lane will only stoke the ire of everyone behind you, but may also cause an accident. also, if you are trying to not look suspicious, doing 5-10 MPH less than the speed limit is only going to make you look more suspicious.
3. if the rain is a fallin', your headlights should be on- this is just makes sense. it will just be easier to see you as you are making an illegal left hand turn into my lane.
these are just a few of the things that drive me nuts on the road. but why?
yes, laws are put in place, and there is always common courtesy to your fellow drivers; but there's no reason why we should go insane with anger and spittle soaked windshields after a slew of profanities has been spewed because we are inconvenienced by someone who decides they have the right of way.
why is it we believe we are god(s) when we get behind the wheel? why is there such an sense of arrogance and entitlement?
how many lives have been lost or people have been injured because someone made a bad decision on the road and had the wrong person react to it?
it believe there's a lot to be said about the human condition the moment we turn the key. we are a spoiled, and self centered lot. myself included, i'm not immune to the "why are you making my life suck" attitude when driving. thank God for grace!
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