I know this column is a little out of the ordinary for this sight. But it is something I just have to write about at this point!
Ford Escapes, Mustang convertibles, Chevy Tahoe�s, Jaguars, BMW�s. What do all of these cars and most new cars have in common? Arrogant drivers behind the wheel�s!
The beginning of my journey takes place in Fort Riley, Kansas. I am driving a friend of mine to the airport in Kansas City, MO. It is winter and there is a coating of ice on the road. The icy rain is falling from the gray and foreboding sky. We make it safely to the airport, I wait until he checks in, and then he tells me I�d better get going before the storm really hits. It is at least a 2-hour drive in sunny, warm weather, but this weather may make it a 3-4 hour drive.
My knuckles are turning white from gripping the wheel. I enter onto the highway from the airport access road, sliding some as I carefully merge. Out of nowhere comes a brand new (temporary tags proudly displayed) SUV. He whips by my old Chevy Beretta. I know I�m going slowly, about 30 MPH because of the ice on the road and the sleet coating my windshield. Up ahead I see the SUV going into the median and turning around a few times before it comes to a stop. It must have 4-wheel drive because he gets his bearings and makes his way out of the snow in the median and back onto the road behind me.
Again the SUV blasts by me. I guess the driver believes that since he has 4-wheel drive, he can get out of any situation. Again I see him in the median. And again he is back on the road behind me. This time he is going faster to pass me. I am looking into my drivers� side mirror as I see the tail end of his vehicle come deadly close to my drivers� door. He manages to get it back into control before cutting me off and going into the berm on the slow lane side. The SUV doesn�t move. I am stopped a few feet beside it. Through my tears, I roll down the passenger side window. I don�t ask if he�s ok, I don�t see if he needs me to call help on my cell phone. I CLAP and laugh hysterically!
Since that fateful day almost 5 years ago, I have been an avid observer of SUV and new car etiquette and behaviors. It is my professional view ( yes, I said professional...I earned that title after 20 near misses with SUV�s and new cars) that once behind the wheel of a SUV or brand spanking new car, that people become arrogant. Some even forget ALL traffic laws. They also become blind and deaf! What makes all of this worse? Police that WON�T pull them over because it won�t do a bit of good!
It�s like this...you see a Hummer on the road speeding through a construction zone and weaving in and out of traffic. You know damn well that if they had the money to splurge on an absolutely frivolous vehicle that they also have enough money to pay the ticket five times over. It doesn�t even phase them. They pull away from the police and start speeding and weaving again!
I live at a corner where there is a 4-way stop. I sit for long hours on the front porch watching the traffic. I have averaged that 9 out of 10 cars don�t stop as per the law. You have California stops, slight hesitations in the middle of the intersection and people who don�t even try to stop. Then you have the people who speed up and ramp the intersection completely. SUV�s hesitate briefly in the middle of the intersection. They don�t stop, just kind of coast, most don�t even look to see if there is cross-traffic. Older cars do the California thing...coasting too, but not as long as the SUV�s, but at the stop sign. New cars don�t even try to stop, just lay off the gas for a moment before accelerating again. They tend to see the bump on the other side and brake hard so as not to hurt their precious new car. It is the trucks, old and new, that tend to speed up and ramp it.
Here is my thinking on the matter. While all of us get really upset with older drivers for their lack of driving skills and lack of etiquette, there is a new group we should be upset with. These are the people who become arrogant while behind the wheel of new vehicles! People over the age of 65 and those who have just purchased a new vehicle, should have to attend driver�s training yearly! Black boxes should be installed in their vehicles and random stops by police should be conducted to check the data. If it is determined that they have exceeded the speed limit, they should lose their vehicle. Also a roadside vision and hearing check should be done, as well as the normal breathalyzer.
We as concerned citizens who drive older vehicles need to band together! We are the ones who get pulled over when the cop thinks it was US speeding and NOT the Jaguar next to us that was doing 150 MPH in the slow lane. It is us who get in trouble for loud music even though the kid at the light next to us with the new Mitsubishi Eclipse and $5000 stereo system is never stopped.
Road rage, huh. I�m just tired of being honked at, flipped off, cursed at and run off the road by arrogant drivers! Maybe it�s time for my to put a big metal beam on the front of my car as a bumper. Then I�ll just ram �em all!
