While driving one day, you pass a short, petite girl in a
Toyota Corolla driving down the highway.
You switch lanes in front of her, and perhaps you cut her
off.
The next thing you know, this girl drives up beside you,
throws up her middle finger, lays down on the horn and is
practically hanging out her window to ensure her obscenities
find their proper place into your ears.
Yeah, that girl was me. Not even a year ago.
I lived in Greensboro last year. If you’ve ever driven
in Greensboro, you know that traffic is insane – but
so was I.
I was Miss Road Rage. I would set the cruise at 90 mph, and
then get really upset if a “slow” driver forced
me to tap my brakes.
But, at some point this year, I decided to slow down. And
I’m very thankful, because “slowing down”
has really changed my life.
I know this sounds silly, and I’m sure that very few
of you will consider “slowing down” after reading
this, but I at least want you to think about being a more
courteous driver.
I would like to thank Boone drivers for being so courteous
and patient, despite the increasing traffic problems here.
While the congestion of traffic in Boone is comparable to
that of Greensboro, the attitude here is not.
Perhaps this has not been your experience, but I don’t
know how many times I have been waiting to turn onto a major
road or highway — watching with despair the neverending
line of vehicles – and a courteous driver has stopped
to let me in front of them.
If not for these kind people, some days I would be waiting
forever.
This never happened in Greensboro.
And in turn, I try to let people go in front of me when I
can. Call it karma, but it makes me feel really good.
This, also, never happened in Greensboro.
As the population of both Appalachian State University and
the town of Boone continue to increase, and we cope with
the resulting traffic problems, it is so important for us
to help each other out on the road.
If someone lets you out into traffic, give him or her the
old courtesy wave and remember that the next time you have
the opportunity to do the same thing for another person.
According to the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association,
speeding is a factor in 30 percent of all crashes and speeding-related
crashes killed 12,850 Americans in 2001.
Sometime this year, after realizing the costliness of speeding,
I just started slowing down. I went from setting the cruise
to 90 mph to keeping it right at five over. Yep, I’m
Queen of the Slow Lane.
And now, as a “recovering speedaholic,” I can
say that driving, which used to be a hectic, highly stressful
experience for me, is now peaceful, calm and even enjoyable.
And when I watch my friends who remain constant speeders
freak out on the road, I can laugh.
In addition, I ditched the whole road rage thing. Emotion
is so dangerous behind the wheel. Plus, I can’t imagine
how ridiculous I must have looked, hanging out the window
of my Corolla and shaking my fist at the driver of an SUV.
Real intimidating, I’m sure.
According to Newton Hightower, author of several publications
concerning anger management, aggressive driving is a factor
in 50 percent of automobile accidents. A recent Gallup poll
revealed that motorists are more worried about road rage
(42 percent) than drunk driving (35 percent).
Road rage, Hightower said, is getting worse -- at a compound
rate of 7 percent.
Sure, every now and then, a rude driver will get the best
of me.
But in general, they don’t, and they don’t have
to get the best of you, either.
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