The Safe Driver

Are you a bobblehead?

We’ve all seen this while we drive; traffic moving slowly as you pass a collision on the other side of the road. It’s amazing how nosey people get when they come across a collision or anything else that’s unusual. I wonder what they’re looking for. Are you a nosey driver? Do you stare at problems other drivers are having while you drive? Wouldn’t that distract you so much that you wouldn’t realize what you were doing at that time as a driver?

I was recently driving on one of our local freeways and was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. At first I thought there was construction up ahead, but as I got further up the roadway, I saw a bus on the shoulder that had the engine catch fire. Once we passed the bus, the drivers sped up to the proper speed limit. How annoying is that? How rude is that? How many of you would want someone to slow down to a crawl to watch your agony and problems? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

I believe in what goes around comes around. Instead of slowing down to watch, stop and help the driver. Maybe it could shorten the distraction and allow traffic to continue flowing. We see these types of distractions all the time while we’re driving. A driver at the side of the road with a broken down vehicle or flat tire, pedestrians that take our attention, emergency vehicles stopped to help someone, and the list goes on. If you really think about it, your attention is fully on the distraction outside your vehicle, that you forget what you’re doing as a driver. The driver behind you could have the same problem and doesn’t notice when you stop. Now there are two problems on the road.

Have you ever been watching a mishap at the side of the road and while staring you missed your turn? The fact is that while paying attention to the outside distraction, you lost track of where you were going and what you were doing. It’s a familiar term called “rubber necking” and it’s been around for as long as civilization. It’s a personality trait. We’re curious by nature and I’m sure taking a few glances is okay, but to slow your vehicle down and stare at the situation? You could be the cause of another crash.

I had read in the newspaper a few years ago about how a driver was so busy watching a crash on the other side of the freeway so much that they ended up crashing into the barrier separating the freeway traffic. They were injured and admitted “rubber necking” just before the crash.

We need to control our urges of slowing down and staring. Keep the flow of traffic moving and avoid adding to the problem. Give respect to the drivers at the side of the road that you would want for yourself.

**Will you stop and take the time to help? More explained HERE.