Why are drivers always in such a big darned hurry? Apparently, impatience leads to rudeness. I remember when attempting to pass someone in the left lane, you would flash your headlights at them. This used to mean “I would like to pass you, please, would you mind moving over to the right lane so that I may do so.” And now when you flash your headlights to pass, it apparently means “Get the heck out of my way.” When did we become such rushed drivers? I’m not saying that I am exempt. I find myself being impatient as well. And I can only speak for myself, but the reason that I am always in such a big darned rush is because I don’t manage my time well. But can that be true for the masses? If I were my adult self, speaking to my inner child, I would say that I should plan to leave earlier so I can relax and not get stressed out while driving to work. There are, of course, other factors that lend to one’s tardiness, such as road construction, traffic, accidents, weather and other unseen events. Listening to the radio for the latest traffic reports sounds ideal but music is much more soothing to the savage beast, eh? And, this is just a passing thought, but I bet there are a lot less impatient speeders and Colorado, Oregon, California and Washington. Police are likely writing zero speeding tickets and responding to less road rage incidents. Now, in those states police are probably writing more tickets for driving too slow or sitting at a stop sign, waiting for it to turn green.
And what are we teaching our kids who are lead by our example? Kids are like little sponges that absorb everything they see and hear. Again, I am not exempt. I will admit, my daughter’s first word was a bad word that she learned while riding in the car with me. I have always prided myself in doing clean comedy. I rarely swear and when I do it’s usually quite mild. So, I was quick to blame my younger sister. I asked her to watch her language around my kid because she’s picking up bad words. It escalated to my tiny toddler swearing in public places. We were in the grocery store, passed a man in an aisle and she called him a bad word. I apologized profusely and he said “That’s okay, lady. I’ve been called worse. But not by a baby.” She eventually stopped saying the word and life was peaceful again. One day, I was driving, she was asleep in her car seat and another car cut us off. Out of my mouth came that exact word. Good thing she was asleep and didn’t hear. But it was then that I realized it was me all along that she was mimicking, not my sister. I never told my sister, though. Although we all like to believe that we are basically good, kind hearted human beings, our alter-ego emerges when driving. This is especially true of rushed drivers.
So take a deep breath, buckle up and be kind out there. You’re not going to arrive any faster by being a jerk. Less stress is good for your heart and soul. And remember, there are little sponges out there learning how to treat others by our examples (good or bad).
Until next week…
Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist
Rushed Drivers – Comedy Defensive Driving