A long time ago I learned how to drive. It was the summer after high school. A bit late from today’s standards but in the grand scheme of my life it’s fine. My favorite thing after my driving classes were done was taking the car and going for practice drives. An adult, other than my parents, was sent out with me. Someone who would make sure I drove correctly, which Dad knew I was doing, but more so in order to bail me out in case I made a mistake. It felt so freeing to be out and to be able to say “I’m leaving” as opposed to “Can someone drive me?”
I was young and like everyone else my age who was driving, I too would get an adrenaline rush every time I put the pedal to the metal. It’s strange how liberating driving feels at that age. No amount of traffic disturbs you. No distance seems long. In fact, the further you have to go the better. That’s just more time for you to be commanding the driver’s seat. The sound of revving the car, the feeling of the wind blowing through the open car with windows down paired with the sound of your favorite music blasting on the radio.
As a female driver, it was always amusing to stop at a red light only to look over and see a similarly aged person of the opposite sex trying to impress you by pulling down the viser, staring at himself in the mirror as he flicks his hair. Not sure whether he is showing off his hairstyle and his looks, whether it’s his way of making a pass at you or it’s simply meant to grab your attention so he can show off his car. Some days you would get lucky and a real cute guy would pull up next to you. It would be a bonus if it was a cute guy and a nice car but most days it was simply an ordinary guy (no disrespect to ordinary guys but some people simply have better genetics) and so you would choose to turn the other way and focus on the road. The light would change and you would succeed in showing him your skills as you rev off before he has had the chance to notice that the light has changed. On a not so good day, you would get an irritating driver next to you and you would pull away telling him off enjoying the liberty to curse as your parents aren’t around. Nothing like cursing to blow off some steam.
Fast forward so many years, it’s the weekend and I am back out on the roads. I am not so young anymore and the last thing I enjoy is getting stuck in weekend traffic jams. I especially navigate so that I don’t land myself on those roads where the young drivers are out showing off their youth. I am now at the age where I prefer not to have the windows rolled down. I also have kids in the car with me and sadly I always fail to keep my patience. Now I am still cursing the driver off only my kids are rolling their eyes at me laughing and telling me, “You know he can’t hear you!”
That’s the lighter side of youthful driving. However, the roads are filled with aggressive drivers. Today I, on impulse, scowl at aggressive drivers. They drive me crazy. Where I once used to enjoy zig zagging in and out of lanes, my stress level rises now when the car behind me has been glued to my bumper in impatience and at the first opportunity pulls ahead of me switching lanes at the speed of light. I equally find it so annoying to see the person next to me revving the car waiting for the light to change so he can speed up and drive away. Less than a minute later that same driver comes to a screeching halt at the next stoplight while I still drive up next to him in a mannerly fashion. He obviously got nothing out of showing his antiques except prove his youth and maybe a 30 second lead on me!
Why does aggressive driving bug me so much? Well, it’s simply distracting. When your attention is on the aggressive driver you aren’t focusing on your car and the rest of the traffic around you. By shifting your focus you have already jeopardized your ability to react in case you need to. The other thing that gets to me is that just as yawning is contagious so too is aggression. When you see aggression you automatically react with aggression. It’s easy to honk incessantly or curse out loud or even display your own aggressive driving skills. Aggression makes you lose control.
Thankfully age matures you enough to be able to know your choices. You can either choose to take them on, choose to let the aggression get to you or you can choose to stay calm and let them pass you by. Let them do their thing and you stay focused on your car, the road in front of you and keep your distance from the aggressive driver. It’s impossible to eliminate aggressive drivers from the roads. Nor is it possible to keep the roads safe from danger at all times. However, how all drivers react makes all the difference. Even in the worst of accidents, if the drivers react well they can minimize the damage done. If they all lose control then that spirals into disaster.
So the next time you put your pedal to the metal, think about your own driving skills and your journey to becoming a seasoned driver. Smile back at your youth and appreciate your ability to keep the roads safe. Let the road warriors do their thing. At least they make your drive entertaining. They keep you on your toes and your brakes and make your drives anything but dull. Tune in to the rush hour show on the radio, keep a safe distance from the show on the road and laugh at the absurdity that adrenaline highs give.
Missing those exciting times and adrenaline rush...