Mad driving lesson
Sometimes we can all use some advice, or a refresher course, even for activities that we engage in every day. In that vein, behold some driving tips that might help improve the daily commute for everybody on the road.
1) Use your brake pedal appropriately. Particularly to the cream colored convertible PT Cruiser this morning: when you are driving on a straight roadway free of traffic lights, stop signs, and armadillo crossings, there is no need to keep tapping the brake pedal. Remember that you should be using only one foot to control both the gas pedal and the brake. If you are applying your foot to the gas pedal you may simply reduce the pressure on the pedal in order to stop accelerating. There is no need to feverishly alternate between pedals as you accelerate. And while stopped at a stop light, use of the brake is appropriate while use of the gas pedal is not. There is no need to alternate between a stopped state and an inching-forward state twenty times before the light turns green.
2) Do you meet the requirements for driving in a single-lane express lane? A certain amount of responsibility comes with the decision to enter the single express lane. Keep in mind that every driver who follows you in that lane is stuck behind you and can not change lanes to pass your restless-driving-leg-syndrome ass as your speed varies erratically. I can think of no legitimate reason for you and the ten cars following you (that I could see from my position) to keep alternating speed between 40 and 60 miles per hour. Next time you decide to enter the single express lane, please watch your speedometer closely so that you don't infuriate your fellow commuters. You may also engage the cruise control. Or simply stick to the local lanes.
3) Be aware of merge lanes. If you are traveling straight in your lane, it is absolutely your right to stay your course. No other drivers have the right to change into your lane, thereby cutting you off, or causing you to swerve, etc. I am a champion of lane ownership. But I also urge you to be aware of what is going on in the lanes around you. For instance, some highways feature merge lanes that allow perhaps 50 feet for cars entering the highway to change into the rightmost driving lane before being forced off the roadway and into a ditch. The responsibility to merge safely into the rightmost driving lane does lie with the driver who is merging. But, if the rightmost driving lane is occupied with a stream of vehicles, each driving up on the ass of the vehicle in front of it, merging becomes simply impossible. So when you see a lane of merging vehicles up ahead, the helpful thing would be to either allow some room in between yourself and the car ahead of you, or to change into another lane if possible. You are not required to do this. It is not ultimately your responsibility, just as it is not ultimately your responsibility to help someone who has fallen down, who is being robbed, or who is on fire. I'll give you that. But also keep in mind that if I am attempting to merge into your lane and it comes down to the decision whether to careen off the highway into a ditch or to merge into your lane with you still in it, well, your safety may very well be on the line as well. So, please, think of the mergers.
4) And to the guy driving the black early-90s model Lexus: I hope you finally got to make that left turn. The use of the directional is perhaps one of the most underrated, underused first lines of both communication and defense on the road, but you really don't have to signal a turn quite that early. I tailed you for, what, a mile or two on the highway without you ever changing lanes, so I can only assume you were signaling for a turn you planned to make after exiting onto a street. Thank you for the early warning, honestly; I wish more people used their turn signal. But it does become less useful when it is used to such an extreme.
1) Use your brake pedal appropriately. Particularly to the cream colored convertible PT Cruiser this morning: when you are driving on a straight roadway free of traffic lights, stop signs, and armadillo crossings, there is no need to keep tapping the brake pedal. Remember that you should be using only one foot to control both the gas pedal and the brake. If you are applying your foot to the gas pedal you may simply reduce the pressure on the pedal in order to stop accelerating. There is no need to feverishly alternate between pedals as you accelerate. And while stopped at a stop light, use of the brake is appropriate while use of the gas pedal is not. There is no need to alternate between a stopped state and an inching-forward state twenty times before the light turns green.
2) Do you meet the requirements for driving in a single-lane express lane? A certain amount of responsibility comes with the decision to enter the single express lane. Keep in mind that every driver who follows you in that lane is stuck behind you and can not change lanes to pass your restless-driving-leg-syndrome ass as your speed varies erratically. I can think of no legitimate reason for you and the ten cars following you (that I could see from my position) to keep alternating speed between 40 and 60 miles per hour. Next time you decide to enter the single express lane, please watch your speedometer closely so that you don't infuriate your fellow commuters. You may also engage the cruise control. Or simply stick to the local lanes.
3) Be aware of merge lanes. If you are traveling straight in your lane, it is absolutely your right to stay your course. No other drivers have the right to change into your lane, thereby cutting you off, or causing you to swerve, etc. I am a champion of lane ownership. But I also urge you to be aware of what is going on in the lanes around you. For instance, some highways feature merge lanes that allow perhaps 50 feet for cars entering the highway to change into the rightmost driving lane before being forced off the roadway and into a ditch. The responsibility to merge safely into the rightmost driving lane does lie with the driver who is merging. But, if the rightmost driving lane is occupied with a stream of vehicles, each driving up on the ass of the vehicle in front of it, merging becomes simply impossible. So when you see a lane of merging vehicles up ahead, the helpful thing would be to either allow some room in between yourself and the car ahead of you, or to change into another lane if possible. You are not required to do this. It is not ultimately your responsibility, just as it is not ultimately your responsibility to help someone who has fallen down, who is being robbed, or who is on fire. I'll give you that. But also keep in mind that if I am attempting to merge into your lane and it comes down to the decision whether to careen off the highway into a ditch or to merge into your lane with you still in it, well, your safety may very well be on the line as well. So, please, think of the mergers.
4) And to the guy driving the black early-90s model Lexus: I hope you finally got to make that left turn. The use of the directional is perhaps one of the most underrated, underused first lines of both communication and defense on the road, but you really don't have to signal a turn quite that early. I tailed you for, what, a mile or two on the highway without you ever changing lanes, so I can only assume you were signaling for a turn you planned to make after exiting onto a street. Thank you for the early warning, honestly; I wish more people used their turn signal. But it does become less useful when it is used to such an extreme.
Labels: rant
posted by Jen S. at
12:23 PM
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