You, Driving and The Road

I was driving home from my holiday get together with family and friends and on my long drive home, it was fascinating to see and encounter the different "styles" of swerving, distracted driving one can encounter.

This doesn't include pedestrians, weather and the extra challenge of night driving.

There's the parent yelling at the kids driver, who turns over their shoulder to yell at their kids, all the while pulling on the steering wheel causing the vehicle to slowly encroach on your own lane and possible force you to speed up or slow down to avoid the new paint scheme on the side of your car.

There's the nut who has to be there before everyone else on the road. I've even witnessed one fellow split lanes with his car yesterday, forcing on vehicle into the emergency lane.

I like the folks who swerve out to the left to make a right turn, hence taking up almost 2 lanes of traffic for a simple maneuver.

There's the sleepy solo driver who appears to be using the lane lines as car center guides.... it doesn't matter which line, it all can end up the same way if none of us are careful.

There's also the driver who slams on the brakes for any occurrence in the lane next to him, if the road curves, or going over a hill. I understand their concerns, but they make more concerns with their over cautious approaches.

I can never decide whether I want to get in front of, or behind folks like these. If I'm in front of them, they may, I should really keep the pedal down to put distance between me and them, but then, they may also be one of those drivers who rate of speed varies 5 to 10 mph so you never know what you're going to get.

If I back off and lag behind, I may get to see an eyeful if they do have a mishap, and then I get caught up in it too... oh the travesty and decisions one must make these days!

Yet underneath all of my worries, our car safety devices lay in wait, as I hope I never need them.



Of all the safety features introduced since 1960, one of them - safety belts - accounts for more than half of all the lives saved," says Dr. Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The other features include child safety seats, energy-absorbing steering columns, improved roofs, and shatter-resistant windshields.

Here's an article on these features and how they've helped save lives over the years over in the Detroit Press

Through out all of this, don't forget our pets.. who can become the hapless victims of any accident since there are few safety features designed with them in mind!

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