RECENTLY I DID A BLOG ON THE DANGERS POSED BY TRUCKS BUT IF TRUTH BE TOLD, THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY BAD DRIVERS ON THE ROAD TODAY.
AND THE STATISTICS BEAR THIS OUT.
EACH YEAR 1.3 MILLION DIE IN VEHICLE CRASHES AROUND THE WORLD...44.5 THOUSAND IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE.
ALL TOTALED, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 260 MILLION REGISTERED VEHICLES IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY; WHEN I STARTED DRIVING IN THE MID 1960s, THERE WERE BUT 60 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF SOME 450%.
BUT AGAIN, IT IS NOT THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT IS THE PROBLEM, IT IS THEIR OWNERS WHO CAUSE ALL THE DEATH, DESTRUCTION AND MAYHEM.
AND SPEAKING OF BAD DRIVERS THERE ARE FIVE (5) TYPES THAT ESPECIALLY MAKE MY BLOOD BOIL:
1. THE EXTREME SPEEDER. IT IS NOT AS IF WE ALL DO NOT SPEED TO SOME EXTENT, HECK IF YOU OBEYED THE POSTED SPEED, YOU'D HOLD UP TRAFFIC. BUT THAT SAID, IT IS HOP-ALONG-CASSIDY AND HIS SIDE-KICKS CLIPPING ALONG AT 30 OR 40 MPH OVER THE SPEED LIMIT THAT GET MY ATTENTION; WHEN THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS ...AS IT OFTEN DOES, THERE IS NO WAY THESE CHARACTERS CAN REACT / BREAK IN TIME TO AVOID A COLLISION;
2. THE TAILGATER. IT NEVER SEEMS TO FAIL THAT SOME NUT-BAR POSITIONS HIS OR HER CAR (MOSTLY MALES) MERE FEET BEHIND MY BUMPER. I AM TEMPTED TO HIT THE BRAKES AS HARD AS I CAN TO TEACH THESE BOZOS A LESSON;
3. THE CROSSER OF ALL LANES. EVEN MORE TROUBLESOME, ARE THOSE DRIVERS WHO DRIVE LIKE HELL IN THE HAMMER LANE AND THEN, WITHOUT WARNING, CROSS ALL LANES TO REACH THEIR EXIT LANE. WHERE DID THEY GET THEIR LICENCES ...IN A BOX OF CRACKER JACKS?
4. THE LANE WEAVER. SIMILAR TO THE 'CROSSER OF ALL LANES' THIS IDIOT, WHO POSSESSES AN IQ THE SIZE OF HIS HAT BAND, WEAVES IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC AS IF HIS LIFE DEPENDED ON IT ...AS IT TOO OFTEN DOES.
5. THE RED LIGHT RACER. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGES FROM GREEN TO YELLOW, THESE IDIOTS SPEED UP ENSURING THAT THEY WILL REACH THE INTERSECTION WELL AFTER THE RED IS SHOWING. WHERE ARE THE INTERSECTION CAMERAS? THESE ROAD RAMBOs SHOULD HAVE THEIR LICENCES REVOKED FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS!!
I REMEMBER SHORTLY AFTER PASSING MY DRIVER'S TEST, I WAS IN HENNESY'S GARAGE JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM MY PARENT'S HOME. I TOLD THE OWNER 'BERT' ABOUT GETTING MY LICENCE AND HE SAID TO ME, 'WELL DONE, BUT NEVER FORGET, DRIVING IS NOT A RIGHT ...BUT RATHER IT IS A PRIVILEGE'.
I NEVER FORGOT HIS SAGE ADVICE.
BUT IT IS TOO BAD SO MANY DRIVERS TODAY BLISSFULLY IGNORE IT.
ON THE POSITIVE SIDE THOUGH IS THE FACT THAT DRIVERLESS CARS WILL SOON BE THE NORM AND ALTHOUGH I WILL MISS THE JOY OF DRIVING MYSELF, I CERTAINLY WILL NOT MISS TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE ONEs TO FIVEs.
As I see it...
'K.D. Galagher'
