5 Kinds of Drivers on the Road: Which are you?

Having been driving around for almost 50 years now (need smelling salts to say that), like everyone, I’ve seen it all. And if I’m honest, I’ve been every kind of driver. In fact, looking at the varied roadsters today, I realize how driving over the decades has presented some interesting life lessons…

The speed demons – I’ve learned to stay off the road when high school lets out. That’s when a bunch of kids who just got their licenses five minutes ago get released with all of the pent up energy of a coiled spring. They want to get where they’re going AS FAST AS POSSIBLE with all of the skill and judgement 16-year-olds are known for. Every year brings a new crop. I can hear the rev of their engines a mile away as I’m getting the mail or walking the dog. I vacate the premises STAT. 

And yes, I remember being one of them. Back then, we all thought we were great drivers. So what if cars pulled to the side when they saw us coming? We thought they were dazzled by our skills. Instead, they were fearing for their lives. It took time, and some near misses, to learn to slow down.

The ‘too cool’ for stop signs – I’m at a four-way stop sign and it’s my turn. But wait, the car that just pulled up (probably that high school kid) zooms through without looking. He/she clearly believes traffic rules are merely a suggestion. 

I was cured of this trait years ago when I might not have stopped long enough at a stop sign. Suddenly a cop car with flashing lights and a shrill siren appeared on my tail, indicating I should pull over. With hardly any road shoulder, both our cars partly blocked traffic and people had to slowly creep by, which felt like it took days. (And no, *cough* it wasn’t embarrassing at all). 

The impatient – Have you ever had this happen? You’re about to drive past someone waiting to pull into traffic. Just as you’re about to sail by, they decide that’s the moment they must go, and you swerve to avoid them? It’s as if they are whispering to themselves “closer, closer… one more second… Now!” I want to hold up a sign: You couldn’t have waited? 

And yes, we’ve all had moments of impatience. That awful feeling of knowing you didn’t quite give that pull-out enough time and there’s a car barreling down behind you. I finally implemented a rule: if I have to say the Lord’s prayer as I’m making any maneuver, I’m being impatient. 

The honkers – I’ve never been an aggressive honker. There’s nothing worse than a loud blare coming from behind, an eighth of a second after the light turns green, making you jump. Sometimes the honking car will be several vehicles down and no one knows what got them going. Unless someone’s about to walk in front of a semi-tractor trailer, why give a loud, obnoxious blast?

Still, I’m not above the occasional, polite ‘throat-clearing’, that light tap-tap when someone doesn’t realize the traffic light has changed. And okay, if that person is still lost in their thoughts, a real honk sometimes must do.

The too slow – Fifty years of driving later, I’m no longer that young speed demon and yes, I’m guilty of this one. Especially if there’s a bunch of commuters wanting to get home around rush hour, I never go fast enough for them. Having bad night vision doesn’t help. I end up with the whole town behind me. Should I go 75 MPH? How fast do they want to go exactly? Clearly faster than me. Now I hardly drive at night unless I must. Thank God, during the day, I blend in and aren’t one of the slow ones… I think.

Maybe driving, like life, never gets easier. You still can’t go too fast or two slow. Patience and politeness are always virtues. 

And there’s always some young whippersnapper coming up from behind.

 

Do you fall into any of these categories? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like to receive posts by email, just press here.

Thank you!