As a family it seems as if we are on the road going somewhere almost as much as we are home. Trips to school, church, shopping or visits to family and friends are on the way every time we strap ourselves into the car and drive down the street. Longtime readers of this blog may recall a long series of articles, inspired by some of my Facebook posts, about how our daughter Hannah then just three years old was already a backseat driver. All this is said to illustrate that transportation, in the form of an automobile, is a necessary part of virtually every day of our lives together.
I am a firm believer
if everyone on the roads today would just drive the way I drive then the whole
process of going-to and coming-from somewhere would make the whole world more
tolerable. Others, including some who know me quite well, might disagree. They
are free to have their opinion even if it is wrong.
That said, there are
some things that I just shake my head at when it comes to life in the world of
traveling in a car. Frankly, I just don’t understand the idea that backing into
a parking space makes much of a difference about anything. Sure, it may provide
a quicker exit when it’s time to leave. That is fine until I am waiting in the
car behind you for the seeming eternity it takes you to maneuver then adjust your
car by backing into a parking space just so you can exit quickly. Either way
takes time. I am also no fan of being in thick traffic when the car ahead of me
decides to stop to allow someone on a side street to pull out into traffic. I
am all about being nice but on the road you have an obligation to keep traffic
moving and not cause a rear-end accident just so one person can try to pull
across six lanes of traffic because they refuse to drive one block to catch the
red light like almost everyone else. And don’t even get me started about the
person who parks the wrong way in a parking space so that when they leave they
are pulling into incoming traffic. Those giant white arrows painted on the
ground are a hint if you are willing to pay attention.
I know that in the
grand scheme of things these things are not really all that important. In
reality I am just thankful each time I arrive safely at any destination. The
truth of the matter is that the roads today are no place for wimps. I do
believe road rage exists. We often see and hear news stories about such hoping
we never find ourselves in such a situation. I do though believe so many of
these things I mentioned add up to pile on to other things that anger and
frustrate us. Maybe we can keep them from turning into road rage but we do sometimes
let them turn into road rudeness.
Maybe we tailgate a
slow-moving car. Maybe the guy behind us on the entry ramp tailgates us then
swerves around us long before the lane ends. Maybe there’s a cop sitting hidden
on the way to work causing us to slow down even though we are late. Maybe the
car in the next parking space is a more than a bit sideways making it hard to
open a door.
It’s always
something. Still, all these things can add up to making life behind the wheel
more frustrating than what is really needed. If you feel that same frustration,
a frustration I sometimes also feel, know I am here to help. It is vital we
never fall prey to committing road rage. We should also avoid road rudeness.
What is the remedy? I am not sure I have the answer for all but I can provide
an answer that maybe might lighten things some.
So, put your car in
Park, turn off the ignition then become acquainted with the Trunk Monkey by clicking the link below. I’m
just going to leave this here in case you need it. And don’t forget objects in
your mirror really are closer than they appear.
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