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Becoming a Better Driver Part 1

If you've ever driven on a public road in the United States, you should know that some people out there simply can't drive. For some of us, it's about getting from point A to B with as little interruption, and everyone else on the road should suck it up because where we're going is more important. For others, we just want to get to where we're going with as little interruption as possible. And then there's everything in between.

In America, we generally see driving as a right-of-passage; as something we don't have to work much for because when we reach the magical age of 15 1/2 or 16 or so, we can take an extremely easy test (relatively speaking), get behind the wheel, and go. However, we don't usually appreciate what we don't have to work extensively for. And this is the reason that many people out there don't know how to drive or even if they do, don't care to put in the effort to become better drivers.

You have to realize that driving is a social situation. You may be protected in a 2-ton piece of metal that could kill just about anything that stands in your way, but you are still operating this machine in an environment where there are other people. Sometimes we take this for granted because it is such a normal thing: you're a car, this guy cutting you off is a car, or this person obeying the speed limit religiously is a car (or old person). But if you think about driving in this light, you realize what they say in the 8-hour driver-improvement courses (for "bad" drivers) is true: "drive as if the people around you are your friends and family." Are you going to get angry if your friend won't get out of your way on the road? In better words, are you going to get as easily aggrivated at your friend, as opposed to if you know it's a complete stranger that is impeding you from getting to where you need to go?

These are things we just can't help. We're humans and it's in our nature. I'm by no means a saint when it comes to this, however I don't act strictly on my emotions when I'm driving. Yes, if someone is going slow in the left lane and they can clearly get over into the right, I will get within inches of their bumper to give them a hint. However, it's generally not because I'm angry, but rather I want to set a standard of sorts that we all should be following anyways: "Slower traffic keep right" (in Virginia). And if that doesn't do it for you, the New Jersey approach of "Keep right, pass left." This is another topic of it's own, but it's simply common courtesy to abide by this rule. And if that means temporarily slowing down to fit in to the right lane and let the faster drivers pass you, well so be it. Again, driving is a social situation and as with any human interaction, you need to give a little and take a little to make it all work. Which brings me to my next point.

It seems when we get behind the wheel of these large, small, climate-controlled, GPS-enabled, pimped-out automobiles, we enter a bubble; a bubble of comfort, if you will. And whether that's because you have heated seats and a warm butt or you're just happy to be 5 feet higher off the ground and looking down on the "little people," it doesn't matter. We enter this bubble and we feel invincible. If it weren't for state troopers and speed limits (among other regulations), it would be the most freedom you could ever achieve in your life. You are literally shielded from the world and the people in it, and whether consciously or unconsciously, we all know it. That's why when you cut someone off, the last thing in your mind is your conscience saying, "I shouldn't have done that." It's probably more like, "Why is this asshole flashing his lights at me?" Now compare this to the real world (outside of your bubble).

If you are walking down some crowded street and bump into someone, multiple things can happen. They may not care, you might get a dirty look, or they might shove you back (or otherwise confront you). Which of these options will make you think twice about doing it again? This same structure works on the road, in the form of honking, flashing headlights, or just flipping the bird. However, on the road, these people who are simply trying to tell you you've done wrong become the "assholes" and "bitches" (or other obscenities) when you, in fact, are the one doing wrong. However, it is our protective bubble, the automobiles we love so much, that allow us to be completely inconsiderate and uncivilized beings to other complete strangers. And thus is the world we live in.

Next time, I'll go into actually improving this.