Ignorance is bliss, if your ignorant.

People have been driving automobiles on public streets and roads for decades. You would think that by this time everyone would know how to drive a car, but apparently that hasn't happened. I see entirely to many people aimlessly operating vehicles as if the car is in control, or as if they are the only people on the road, and I am truly disturbed. It really seems like common sense is slowly deteriorating.

I just happen to be a professional driver, which means I am educated in the proper use of motor vehicles and the roads and highways used in the operation of such vehicles. My drivers license has eight letters on it, and I can drive anything except a train, a plane, a crane over 100 feet tall, and any boat over 28 feet long. I have driven many different vehicles through many different situations and I have come up with a few pointers that may help us all when we are driving.

First, slow down a bit. It saves you no time when you attempt to speed through town, and it only saves you time on the interstate if you are traveling great distances. Doing ten miles and hour over the speed limit for twenty miles only saves you about 3 minutes. So, if you are running late then you should have left the house earlier, and let that be a lesson you learn once, not everyday. I would like to clarify that when I say speed, I mean excessive speeding, because nobody actually wants to do the speed limit. In my opinion you should be traveling at a speed somewhere between the limit and five miles and hour over that limit. This way everyone is attempting to drive near the same speed which should cut down on tailgating.

Second, don't tailgate anyone for any reason at any time. This means you, and you know who you are! Tailgating is a major issue that causes accidents and affects everyone on the road. If you are a tailgater you open up the door for scam artists to hop and squat causing you to rear-end them, which is what they want. On top of that, you use more fuel and cause traffic to build, while annoying the rest of us. The easiest way to tell if you are to close is to count how many seconds are between you and the vehicle in front of you, and the magic number your shooting for is a minimum of three seconds. If you keep three seconds between you and the person in front of you, at any speed, then you should have sufficient time to stop in an emergency. At 60 miles per hour, you travel approximately 264 feet in three seconds, that's almost 90 yards. At twenty five miles per hour you travel only 110 feet. So, the faster your going, the more room you need to stop. I know, it seems so simple.

I could write for days about the crazy, odd, and just plain stupid things people do with cars. Most of the time the reason people get into accidents, or do something stupid, is inattentive driving. Inattentive driving occurs when you let your focus move to anything other than operating the vehicle, checking traffic around you, or reading the traffic in front of you. Which means hang up your phone and drive.

If everyone did just one of these things then the roads would be a calmer place. Traffic would flow better and we would all get there faster. We could all take a deep breath, turn on some tunes, and chill out. I will end my little rant for now, by saying; watch out for motorcycles, and never cut off a trucker!