Traffic - Driving to Arrive

When I was growing up, “You buy your license?” was a popular question that was asked sarcastically by island folks of people who displayed poor judgment while operating a car. What the question implied was that they must have paid somebody to get their driver’s license because there was no way they could have obtained it legitimately based on their poor driving skills.  Then when I moved to Georgia and discovered that you could actually renew your driver’s license at the local grocery store, specific locations of course, I was tickled at the irony. I remember thinking, “Folks back home would get a kick out of this.”  I would later find myself shouting at people who cut me off in traffic, “Where did you buy your license, Kroger?” They obviously didn't get it based on the confused looks on their face.  If I’m not mistaken, those satellite DMV locations have since been closed.

While it is all in good fun to make jokes about bad drivers, the truth is there is never any excuse for people to drive poorly. A lot of the incidents people encounter while driving can easily be avoided if they would practice safe driving.  What I've found is, except for a handful of people who may have taken driver’s education classes in school, the mass majority of people, myself included, learn to drive by ear, meaning they learned to drive by following the instructions given to them by either one of their parents, a friend, or some other family member. One of the problems with that is the person giving the instructions themselves may not have had any formal training in the art of operating a motor vehicle or the rules associated with driving on the road. As such, all they can teach is the basics of moving the car from point A to point B, reversing, and parallel parking. All of which are necessary for passing the driving portion (practical) of the driving exam, but what about the written portion (theory)? The other drawback to learning to drive by ear is that "bad drivers" were teaching "bad driving" which contributes to  highway issues. Think about it, whatever bad habits the teacher has, they pass it on to their student(s), who in turn may end up teaching someone else to drive at some point. As a result the cycle continues.

My first exposure to driver’s education classes was back on the island when my mother enrolled in driver’s school prior to getting her driver’s license.  Up until then I had no idea these type classes existed. It was in those classes that my mom learned all the ins and outs of operating a car. I remember how passionately she would share her newly learned information, like kinetic energy. I must admit that not before or since have I ever heard anyone else speak to kinetic energy as it relates to driving a car but it was good information which I embraced. What my mom shared with me is that every time you stop your car, you don’t just stop. You have to overcome a force that is known as kinetic energy, which tends to push your car forward. This force is the energy developed by a car while it's in motion. The law of kinetic energy means that when you double your speed, the kinetic energy of your car is four times as great. That means the braking distance is four times as great. When you triple or quadruple your speed, the stopping distance is even greater. My mom’s advice, “Don’t wait until you want to stop to apply the brakes. Let the kinetic energy run out.” So when I am driving I tend to let the kinetic energy run out on its own by not constantly pressing on the gas.

This little trick greatly reduced the wear and tear on my breaks to the point that I have only changed the brake pads on my 8-year old Jeep twice. Not bad considering the amount of driving I do.

Driving is a secondary function or “automatic” if you will, which is set in place based on an individual’s initial driving habits. Think about it, when you are driving are you thinking, “stop”, “go”, “step on the gas”, “step on the brakes”, or “look left/right”? Of course not because your brain is programmed to do those task automatically for you. The brain can also be wired to recognize the green light as a sign to keep driving and the red light as a warning to stop. Unfortunately not too many drivers have programmed their brain to recognize that an amber colored light is a signal to slow down, not speed up. It is because of this secondary function that people are able to engage in a number of other limited actions/tasks while driving, i.e., engage in conversation, read a map, etc. As a result, if you don’t learn to come to a complete stop at a stop sign in the beginning of your driving history, then the chances that you will do so regularly without thinking about it is very slim to none. That’s why most people do the “California roll” when approaching a stop sign, meaning they slow down just long enough to see if anything is coming but never really come to a complete stop, not unless something is coming and sometimes not even then. That can be dangerous.  

Not only can you use your brain to set your driving habits to incorporate obeying traffic rules, it can also be used as a GPS. Don’t believe me? Think about this, when you make a decision to go someplace, i.e., work, home, grocery store, etc., you don’t spend time trying to figure out how to get there unless it’s the first time you are making the trip. You just get in your car and you drive. Think about the last time your drove home from work, do you remember ever twist and turn you took, every car that cut you off, or how many red lights you encountered? Of course not, you would be hard pressed to remember the journey.

There are times I get home and I can’t tell you anything about the journey. That’s because it was all so routine. Unless something unusual happens on the way, I typically don’t remember how I got home. Ever tell yourself you are going to stop at the store on your way home from someplace and then realize when you pull into the garage that you didn't stop? That’s because you forgot to reprogram your brain's GPS – lol. Your brain's destination was set to “home” and there is where it took you.

Fact is operating a car is more than just learning enough to pass the driving test. It’s about programming your brain to recognize key safety triggers that will keep you and other’s safe. It is also about using good judgment and common sense when behind the wheel. It encompasses paying attention to what is going on around you and your ability to factor in those things every time when making a decision to either stop or go. Oh and it also involves being courteous to other drivers. In any given day I can easily lose count of the number of people who: 1) cut me off even though I have the right of way, 2) failed to signal when making a turn, and 3) pulled out in front of me only to go about 5-10 mph less than what I am traveling instead of just waiting for me to pass especially when there is nobody behind me. All because they are in too much of a rush to wait their turn. 

Texting, talking on the phone, reading, eating, putting on make-up, combing their hair, or reaching under their seats for something is some of the many distractions that can cause people their lives while driving.  Why not do those things before you get behind the wheel? If you do, you may just save a life, maybe even your own. I’m just saying – I got issues. What about you?)i(

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