I didn”t take the driver”s education class that was offered at my high school. I can”t remember why. There must have been a good reason because there was real value in taking the class. Taking it at school would have meant I wouldn”t have been forced to take the physical driving test with Officer Holmes of the DMV sitting next to me in my car while I perspired over parallel parking, giving proper signals, yielding, merging and stopping.
So, by not taking the class, I put myself in the hot seat and took the test shortly after turning 16. Aside from remembering that Officer Holmes was the father of one of my classmates, which motivated me to do my best so he wouldn”t blab to his son that I had flunked the test, I only recall one other detail from that momentous event. At the end of the test, when I was informed whether I passed or failed, I was also told what I did wrong. I think there was more than one item, but all these years later the only thing that has stuck with me was that he said I had a tendency to stop past the white crosswalk line or the stop sign, if there was no white line.
Fortunately, I passed the test and received my license and the evaluator”s comments made an impression on me. I try to never break the stop sign rule. It”s clear to me that most of today”s drivers were not tested by Officer Holmes. Often, when I am driving on a major street or highway, drivers approaching stop signs on side streets sometimes scare me to death. Often they are actually in the intersection before they come to a stop. This maneuver seems to be part of a widespread driving style that is classified as aggressive driving.
Those who practice aggressive driving methods act like we are all participating in a giant video game where everything is virtual and no one really gets hurt in a collision. But, everything is real, and if someone steps into a crosswalk or a driver sneezes and veers a little to the right at just the wrong time, a tragedy can occur.
In addition to drivers stopping well past the stop line or sign, today”s aggressive drivers also have a tendency to pull out in front of other drivers when there really isn”t enough time for them to do so without causing the other driver to slow down to avoid a collision. I have observed this countless times and frequently there are no vehicles closely following the driver who is turned in front of. If the impatient driver had waited a few seconds no one would have been forced to hit the brakes to avoid an accident.
Everyone has wound up shaking their fist or honking their horn at someone who was not driving to their satisfaction, but there are some people who seem to be constantly agitated by the other drivers on the road. Have you ever ridden with someone who is constantly jabbering about the driver in front of or behind them? No other drivers on the road seem to be capable of doing anything right, according to the driver you are with. These aggressive drivers can get themselves worked into a frenzy just trying to negotiate a trip of a couple of miles.
An article I read about road rage said, “Never underestimate the other driver”s capacity for mayhem.” The streets and highways of today are a scary place to be a participant. I don”t believe the answer is for everyone to drive aggressively. I think it is best to drive defensively and show fellow drivers what used to be called common courtesy. If more people would subscribe to that philosophy, perhaps we would all feel a little safer on the road.
Gary Dickson is the editor and publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
