Driving Me Mad

Any time I get in my car, the very worst part of me comes out. It’s as if I get temporary Tourette syndrome. I mean no offense to anyone who suffers from this disorder but my behavior behind the wheel fully resembles it.

I’ve been making a conscious effort to improve my actions while I’m driving. I will admit I am guilty of applying make up, occasional sneak texting and constantly swearing at people I don’t know. I have realized that the way I sometimes act in my car is exactly the thing I despise about other drivers and are things I would never do anywhere else in the world or in any other situation.

Is it possible that people are so skilled at driving that all others must be punished who don’t understand the proper way to do it? You can feel the tension and aggression everywhere on the black top. As an intuitive person, I can only imagine what it must be like for a highly sensitive  person, an empath or a clairvoyant. I would think you would be wanting to pull over and cry at every stop. And then there’s the other side of the coin. The competitive and aggressive person who switches in to hyper-drive on the road. Instant video game behind the wheel.

In order to get out of my subdivision, I usually have to take a left turn across a two lane boulevard where the speed limit is 45. Most people are going 60 to 70 miles per hour. Each person has a unique “driver personality” which can be influenced by a person’s current mood and whether or not they are doing something else while driving. (talking, eating, dancing, picking their nose, spanking the kids, or the hundred other things that could be occurring.)

On the right side, the boulevard narrows to one lane right where my stop sign is since there isn’t a subdivision. It’s still a corn field. I love the field but it doesn’t afford a stop light at my intersection. I wait, looking right and left then right and left. If it’s 6pm, you are in for a real challenge. The lights are not synchronized and the hounds of hell are released at precisely 3 minute intervals from either side never leaving a window for us poor souls praying to make a left.  So when one side clears, the other is coming on strong. It’s prompted me to take a right on several occasions and go for the U-turn at the light down the road.

The other day I saw an opportunity but there was one truck coming fairly quickly from the right. I thought if I step on it I can make it, but he might need to slow down a little. Slowing down for some folks is an absolute NO. It infuriates people, and often times they will risk a near miss just to scare someone and punish them for the choice they made. If you make them slow down, you are the biggest piece of shit on the road and you must be taught a lesson. Many people feel that the use of their brakes is the biggest inconvenience in their lives. What is that about? Why are we so angry to have to yield to another human being in our 2000 lb. vehicle. Is life not sacred?

Well, this guy was REALLY mad. He didn’t even have to use his brakes but he did not feel I should have driven out in front of him and he wanted to be sure I understood that I had made a mistake coming in to his path. He stepped harder on the gas and I could feel his anger and heat as he pulled up to my bumper at 55 miles an hour.

I fantasized about slamming on my brakes. I of course didn’t act on that as I value my car as well as my life. There is no doubt in my mind that this happens all over the country every single day, and funny thing is that the rear-ender is always in the wrong. You are supposed to KEEP BACK like it says on the Firefighters shirt.

It’s interesting because you really can feel it. You can feel people’s energy in their cars from the way they care for them to the way they drive them. The construction guy in his truck, the family man in his Ford Taurus, the mid life crisis in the Corvette, the mom in the mini van, the teenager in the economy car, the struggling drifter in the garbage filled rusted car from the last century. These might sound like stereo types or cliches but you know you have seen them all. People make huge statements about who they are in their vehicles and also in how they drive them. Cars are like costumes.

There’s so much crazy behavior on the road. Some humorous, some terrifying. I came around the corner in my neighborhood one night and coming towards me was a guy on a quad. I was going about 25 which is the speed limit. He, on the other hand, had a small child who could not have been over the age of 3 on the front of the quad. No one had a helmet on and I am sure what he was doing was unbelievably illegal. However, he yelled at me. “Slow down!” he shouted. I was not speeding. He was right though, I should slow down when in the presence of stupidity. Oops. There it is. That darn syndrome.

Here is the thing that is interesting. We feel as if the actions we take in our car are separate from our real character. On the contrary, I think our behavior behind the wheel tells us much about what might be lurking in our subconscious mind. Could it be the key to what we think of our fellow man? Is it an indication of our ability to be forgiving and understanding or our aptitude for decision making? I think if more people became more conscious behind the wheel about the thoughts we are thinking and the words that come out of our mouths – the world might be a better place. We throw bad vibes at each other all day long from our seat belted pods. I started noticing that I was often calling people assholes from the safety of my little rolling bubble. Don’t judge. You know you do it. You know you’ve almost flipped off the pastor.

Perhaps we should all realize we are driving a huge heavy piece of machinery that deserves respect and attention. I think we become numb after we escape death day after day exhibiting risky behavior. This is why people are inventing self driving cars. We are careless, risky and irresponsible in countless ways and don’t tell me you are the one good driver on the road. You are human. Humans make bad choices and mistakes and are also late for work occasionally.

I have been studying the Laws of the Universe and aiming at improving my life. I realized that in my car, I was hurling insults and cursing others like I would NEVER do in “real life”. I realized that we all on occasion act like driving is some game or alternate life but the truth is….  it is a microcosm and we should pay close attention to how we think, act and react in our vehicles. We might learn to be more tolerant of others in our daily lives. We might find we have a better day when we allow someone to cut us off without going nuts. We could find blessings by not tailgating someone on the freeway going 80 mph. Most of all, more of us might live to see another day.

I told my son and his friend that when someone does something strange or aggressive on the road, I make up a story about them. Perhaps their child is sick and they are going to get crucial medication for them or their husband is in the hospital and they are going to see him. Perhaps their girlfriend just broke up with them or they lost their job. A few days after I told them that, I was driving the boys home and someone cut me off and I said “What’s their problem?”… One of my son’s friends in his brilliance (apparently he was listening!) said, “maybe their going to get their kid some medicine”. We all laughed and that was that.

Drive safely everyone and give someone on the road a brake today. You may find it gives you a break too.