The Safe Driver

Did you take your silly pills?

I often wonder if your can have the same experiences of a full moon during daylight hours. Or, maybe drivers take “silly pills” before they get into the car. We recently received a substantial amount of snow. We’ve been lucky this winter; rarely any snow at all. Driving along in the snow last night and this morning was an experience. Drivers really had no clue to what they should be doing. Does a heavy snowfall make you “clueless in Seattle”?

I had to take a freeway last night and this particular freeway had a posted speed limit of 90 km/h. I fully understand that the limit is for ideal conditions, so I was traveling between 60 km/h and 70 km/h. This seemed to be a good speed to allow me to keep traction and to also keep the flow of traffic moving along. However, as I neared my exit, there was a driver ahead of me doing less than 40 km/h. Come on people; if you want to go that slow, take the city roads.

I felt compelled to stay in that lane because my exit was coming up. Changing lanes wasn’t a good option. I needed to stay in the right hand lane, especially since I had a shoulder to my right to use in case I had to get out of the way from the driver behind. Traffic was approaching from behind me, so I really needed to keep additional space in front of me as well, just in case I had to accelerate out of their way. Why would a driver put themselves and other drivers at risk by driving less than half the freeway speed? If the road conditions make you that uncomfortable, either don’t drive during those conditions or take a road with a slower speed limit.

That wasn’t the end of it. This morning I saw a driver attempt and succeed at turning left at a set of traffic lights. Now, this may not seem like anything special, but they were beside the left turning lane when they made their turn. Drivers behind were honking at them to move along, but they were persistent. They waited and waited until it was clear to turn and then they turned left right beside the driver who was in the left turning lane. Were they panicking because they were afraid they would miss their turn and that’s why they did this dangerous and selfish action? Did they not think about going around the block? If you can’t get in the left turning lane, remember that 3 right turns will equal a left turn. But two wrongs won’t make a right.

This wasn’t the only thing that was strange on my way to my office this morning. One of the ways to reduce driving stress is to plan your route. Make sure you’re in the proper lane well ahead of time, especially in poor weather or heavy traffic. Because the morning traffic is always heavier, I ensure that I’m in the proper lane well ahead of time. One of the roads I travel each day narrows from 2 lanes into one lane. This morning, there was a driver in the right lane that had to move into the left lane. They tried to do it behind me, but the driver directly behind me sped up quickly to block them. They almost got hit by the merging driver. Why would they risk damage to their vehicle just to save a few seconds? I ended up slowing down so the merging driver could get in front of me. No big deal for me.

Regardless of the type of weather, time of day or mood you’re in, driving takes maturity and common sense. Think about how your actions will affect other drivers before you proceed. Thinking in that manner can help us all survive.