I drive. I got my permit and license around the usual time, except that once it came to it, I was a bit reluctant. But I did get it and did alright until I got married. My husband's car had manual transmission and I came to California to live in his apartment, so I had to learn to drive a "stick" in a place that is all hills. My husband's aunt tried to teach me to drive one, but she had me go up a little hill in a parking lot just to demonstrate to me what could happen, so that she could then explain what to do on a hill. But it backfired on her... because once I found out that you could do that if you clutched wrong, I was terrified and refused to drive another inch. Since I couldn't (wouldn't) get the hang of the clutch, I didn't drive for 4 years until we traded the car in for an automatic. I just didn't see how I could be a safe driver with yet another thing to figure out considering that I had all I could do just keeping track of all the other cars and pedestrians. And the thought of stalling on a hill with all those California drivers behind me absolutely paralyzed me.
Turns out I was right. One of the greatest torments of my day is driving among people who, in my husband's opinion, are not giving a thought to how their driving affects surrounding drivers (he was trying to explain that he's pretty sure they just don't think about it as I do). I feel persecuted when people drive behind me for some reason. I'm not just talking about tailgating, I mean just following at a regular distance for a while. I feel like they're chasing me! Now, my rational mind deals with that, after all, I do the same. It's called Driving in Traffic. The feeling is just an impulse I don't much like. But the trouble is that I feel like that in situations where I recognize there is no malice towards me, but usually, what I get is people who follow too closely and whip around you at the first opportunity or get closer and closer as if unable to grasp the fact that you aren't going to get any faster. They are at least 50% SUVs and those extra-bulgy trucks, where I drive a sedan. But cars of all sizes, and I am not exaggerating, are 90% driven by people who follow too closely. Their behavior is so similar that I can actually predict their actions. I actually can sense when someone is going to pull over in front of me from their behavior even though many do not signal. I have driven among them for long enough to actually get this figured out. And for some reason, that makes it more annoying, which is bad because I already was bothered by driving among them, and now they're tailgating and acting like mindless sheep and repeatedly threatening my life with their impatience and they aren't even thinking about it?!?!?!
Pretty hard. If I had a choice, I'd bicycle. It's stressful around here, too. But if I want, I can just hop off and walk, stop almost anywhere, and the physical exercise helps with the stress.
So yeah, I drive. And I have to force myself to not ram the next idiot who tailgates and then whips around me as if to say, "That'll show you, this is how you're supposed to drive," because I have a Toyota and I could be bad and say, "Oh my, the car just leaped forward all by itself! I'd better get it to the dealership! Of course, you know them, they'll deny everything, but we know what happened..."
For the record, I'm not gonna do that. But I do enjoy it very much when a cop enters traffic and everyone slows down to a nervous crawl... every except me. That's the peace of not speeding in the first place. I wouldn't gloat so much if they weren't all so annoying. Seriously, all. It's a regional driving style or something.
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"Pack up my head, I'm goin' to Paris!" - P.W.
The world loves diversity... as long as it's pretty, makes them look smart and doesn't put them out in any way.
There's the road, and the road less traveled, and then there's MY road.