Tracks In The Dust

Driving Under The Influence of Stupidity

Okay I am not really complaining, but maybe sort of. When I was a kid in order to get my drivers license it was required that I take a “defensive driving” course. It taught me how to be sure to anticipate the people and things that could come up as possible threats or obstacles as you drive.

I can’t help noticing that these days people seem to be driving “offensively” more than on the defense. I see people making last minute decisions to cut into lanes, people who make turns from lanes that are supposed to be for thru traffic.   They seem to be doing it intentionally. Maybe they are unaware ( that would actually be scarier).

Any way you look at it, the idea that people can just make those decisions without care for those around them makes me wonder how many times a day they are being avoided.   Maybe its the generation that grew up on video games. All the way back to “rad racer” and ever since, it seems like simulated road maneuvers and even road rage are centered around those kind of games.  I’ve played them myself. They are fun, but not reality.

My dad taught me that if you miss an exit on the highway or a turn on the street, you find the next exit or turn and make a correction. Just the other day I saw someone move from a lane 4 lanes away to get to their exit at the very last minute. I was glad I was far enough behind to miss any possible swerving as we were going 70 mph at the time.   Did that person have any idea that they could have caused an accident, or even the loss of human life? Not entirely sure.

Okay- so easy to complain I guess. Just want to be sure that my kids learn the “defense” because the offense seems to be the majority these days. It probably has always been that way, but it seems more obvious to me than I can recall in my decades of driving.

Do you see it that way where you live?