Sloppy Driving has become a way of life
Filed Under Feature Articles
2006-12-01 12:39:03
It’s possible you may be reading this article and discovering this issue for the first time. It’s also entirely possible that you are as frustrated as many people are and pray that something can be done about it. What problem are we talking about? The never ending saga of people who don’t obey the simple rules of the road.
Sloppy driving is most evident and most annoying on the highways. The worst part about it is that a majority of people are utterly clueless when they get behind the wheel of an automobile. It would be logical to assume that we are witnessing the result of a generation of baby boomers who were able to obtain driver’s licenses after passing a simple written test that contained questions such as what the meaning of a red traffic light is. On the other hand, I know many young people who drive equally as sloppy so this is definitely a problem that touches all age groups.
What can be done about sloppy driving? Not a heck of a lot apart from sending every citizen with a driver’s license back to school and having police be much more vigilant in handing out tickets for the smaller infractions. Europeans take driving much more seriously than North Americans. It’s much more difficult to obtain a driving permit over there and rightly so. Driving a car is a big responsibility and unless a person can demonstrate a real understanding of how to operate a vehicle safely and with confidence, they should not be behind the wheel. Here is a list of some sloppy driving habits that you can witness every single on the road.
Driving in the passing lane. Probably the most irritating form of sloppy driving is a person who drives in the left (passing) lane on the highway and who’s speed is less than or equal to vehicles in the center lane. On three lane highways, new drivers are taught in school that the right lane is for slow moving traffic, the center lane is for normal circulation and the left lane is for passing. In Europe, drivers are taught to use the right-most available lane for circulation which is a more efficient way of traffic circulation. If Europeans need to pass, they use the center lane and if the center lane is full, only then would they use the left lane. At all times, the driver should be looking for an opportunity to switch lanes to the right in an effort not to hold up faster moving traffic.
In North America, such discipline is non existent. Many drivers find the earliest opportunity to shift to the left lane and stay there. Faster traffic is then held up behind a single slow moving vehicle which leads to tailgating (highly illegal and dangerous), high-beaming (illegal) or passing on the right (also illegal) and might be accompanied by an obscene gesture (illegal). It has become so bad that sometimes, the left and center lanes will be jammed with cars and the right lane completely void of traffic. The worst part about it is that the driver who was blocking the passing lane is unaware of the trouble and danger they cause and will probably complain to a friend later on that day about how crazy people drive on the autoroutes.
Not using your turn signal. Nothing says “I’m an arrogant driver” then not signaling your intention to turn or change lanes. In addition to the portrayal of arrogance, the practice is also dangerous and illegal. A turn signal needs to be used without fail at all times without exception even if you are the only car in the vicinity. Drivers often forget that pedestrians, cyclists and other non vehicular traffic also share the road. Not signaling your intention could have dire consequences for a cyclist who assumed you were not turning because you didn’t signal and proceeded to cross into the intersection only to find out too late that you were just a sloppy driver.
Merging & yielding. This one might be a bit more serious than the previous two and falls under the category of incompetent, rather than sloppy driving. A driver who is incapable of merging into traffic poses a huge risk to everyone around them. How many times have you been behind a vehicle attempting to merge onto the highway when suddenly they panic and hit the brake, causing you to do the same. The two of you could then be stuck in a position where you must join traffic traveling 100km/h while accelerating from a crawl. How many times have you had to wait behind a vehicle attempting to merge when a merge isn’t even necessary because they have their own lane available and are not aware of their surroundings?
Merging is not that difficult. All it takes is a little practice and some confidence in your driving ability to be able to merge with little effort. The most important thing you need to remember to do is accelerate to the speed of the traffic you are attempting to merge into. If you are going too slow, your window of opportunity is much smaller. In addition you will force vehicles to your rear to slow down to avert rear-ending you once you get on.
If you are traveling the correct speed (with your turn signal on of course), all that is required is a single quick glance over your left shoulder to check the position of the vehicles that are approaching. You should be able to determine quite quickly the speed and intention of the vehicles on the highway and place your car between them. You may not think so but other drivers are aware of your intention to merge and will let you in, provided you are going the correct speed. What you shouldn’t be doing under any circumstance is hunching your entire body forward over the steering wheel in an attempt to try and look through your side mirror. Adjusting your side mirrors outwards to cover your blind spots instead of the side of your vehicle is a much more efficient use of them.
Obey markings on the road. There are lines painted on the road for a reason. Often it seems like drivers are either oblivious or just don’t care. They shoot across double solid lines in tunnels or come to a stop with half their vehicle in front of the stop line at an intersection blocking pedestrian traffic. Make an effort to obey these markings.
If there was a real push by police to ticket drivers for some of these smaller infractions, we might see a dramatic improvement in traffic flow on the roads. Until that happens, we can all do our best to drive respectfully and courteously. It’s in all of our best interests.
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