Categories
driving parenting safe driving student driver Uncategorized

Parent Taught Driving Experience

Excerpts from my upcoming book: Road Rage Justified

So, being the independent and cost-aware woman that I am, I decided to teach my 4 teenage children how to drive. Some would say, to maintain your sanity, pay the money to send them to driving school. Well, sanity is relative, right? The first child was really aggressive with her studying and was eager to get a permit and ultimately a license. The second child is my backseat, side seat, checking mirrors for everyone who drives person. The third is so eager it is a bit scary…… The fourth is sitting back watching everyone else, wondering if driving is really necessary, thinking maybe I can make enough money to have a driver.  This experience opened my eyes to how dangerous and anxiety inducing driving can be. In watching their reactions in the car, not only is the driver impacted, but all the passengers as well.

The top anxiety inducting driving habits thus far are tailgating, horn honking, and swerving cars.  The top dangerous driving habits thus far are speeding and distracted driving. As a parent trying to teach her children to be safe, law abiding drivers, I get frustrated when they have to deal with these types of behaviors. It has literally driven me to think there may be instances where Road Rage is Justified. There have been times I wanted to run down a car and make them pull over,  just to tell them how they are making it hard for me to teach my children to drive. Other times, I’ve felt like running people off the road for being so rude. I know this is not being a good example for my children, but the momma bear in me wants to protect them at all costs.  Helping my children not develop aggressive behaviors while driving has become my main focus.  Sharing how I’ve dealt with driving situations along the way will be my gift to society and other parents who dare to teach their teens to drive.

Categories
Uncategorized

Road Rage Justified

“I cannot explain what happened”, he said as he is lying down on the surprisingly soft office chaise. All I know is everything went red and the next thing I remember is waking up in this hospital. The psychologist looks at him over a pair of designer thin rimmed titanium framed glasses, without saying a word. Feeling as if he is being encouraged to keep speaking, he begins to describe what felt like a dream.  “It was the height of rush hour traffic on a warm spring evening. I was on my way to see my daughter’s gymnastic competition. Up until now, I had missed them all this year. Before leaving for work, I made a promise to be there today. My daughter smiled apprehensively as she turned and walked out the door to catch her school bus.  As I left work, there was plenty of time to get to the gym, park and make my way in to see her event.  The radio station was playing all my favorite songs, which was a great sign that all was well.  My route was mapped to avoid the highway due to traffic and a few reported accidents.  As soon as I pull out of the school parking lot a little smart car cuts me off and then stops abruptly, but then moves to a different lane. I was still making great time.  Then at the next corner a car hit me from behind because he was texting and did not realize traffic had stopped.  There was no damage to my large SUV so we decided to go our separate ways.  Now, I am not late, but going to be cutting it close. About two blocks later a woman with a car full of children was driving slowly, weaving a bit in the lane and pumping her breaks repeatedly.  This continues for about one and half blocks when she, all of a sudden, comes to a screeching stop.  There was no stop sign, red light or other reasons to stop that I could see.  The car right next to her keeps going and I see an opening so, I zoom around her and hit the gas. Then I guess I woke up, because that is all I remember.” The psychologist then sits up in her chair and asks, with a thick foreign accent,” Why do you not seem upset at all in your dream? Initially, you told me all you could remember was that everything went red. Does that not mean you where upset for some reason?” He then begins to mumble and break down crying as he said, ” I presume I was upset, but as I said, what I just relayed was more like a dream than reality. I can’t remember what happened and it is eating me up inside. All I know is I was ordered to speak to you because something bad happened and they are not sure I am mentally stable enough to be told details.”

“Let us end today’s session and start fresh tomorrow”, said the psychologist.

 

Stay tuned to read what really happened…..

Until then, Happy Driving!

 

Categories
driving Uncategorized

Defining Annoying Driving Behaviors

For those new to driving, I would like to define some of the common annoying driving behaviors. You may hear people yell these terms while driving or telling a story of their vehicular experiences. These behaviors are not only annoying, but dangerous!

  1.  Tailgating – When a driver drives behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly.  In other words, “Get off my BUTT!”(clean version) By the way, this is illegal is some jurisdictions.  Not quite the sports fan definition, I know…. Tailgating accounted for 23% of motor vehicle accidents from 1975 – 2008.
  2.  Road Hog – A motorist who drives recklessly or inconsiderately, making it difficult for others to proceed safely or at a normal speed. In other words, “Driving like a Donkey’s Butt!” (clean version) This person may be a thrill seeker, in a hurry, under the influence of a substance or just plain stupid. Either way they are a danger to themselves and others on the road. Combined, Improper driving, speeding and intoxicated driving accounted for 44% of motor vehicle accidents from 1975-2008.
  3. Rubberneck –  A human trait associated with morbid curiosity.  It is the cause of traffic jams, as drivers slow down to see what happened in a crash. This like texting, talking on the phone, disciplining your children, and eating are all forms of distracted driving. Rubbernecking alone, accounts for 16% of all motor vehicle accidents.(1)

Hopefully, the next time you hear these terms used, they aren’t being directed at you.

Keep driving,

Kathleen

 

(1) Journal of Transportation Technologies, 2014, 4, 116-125

Categories
driving Uncategorized

Road Rage

Everyone has those friends or family members who seem to fuss and cuss the entire time they are driving.  Is this behavior justifiable? Do they have a legitimate reason to be upset?  Maybe, they are just hot headed people in all aspects of their lives? Are the roads full of people who simply do not know how to drive? Are there rules of the road, that if followed, would help alleviate the frustrations of these drivers?

Over the next few months, I will attempt to answer these questions.   Please share the top 5 things that annoy you about driving.  I will help you understand why it happens and if you are justified in your annoyance.

Until next time,

Happy Driving

Categories
Uncategorized

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

post