Off The Cuff

Ranting About Discourteous Drivers!

Posted by: From Arkansas in Are You Kidding Me?, It's A Rant, Tips On Driving on Sep 26 2007

Welcome back!

What I really hate on the road are discourteous drivers, specifically truckers who are following too closely and SUV owners who think they can do this because their vehicle is bigger. Long ago, these people would have scared me, had me speeding up and, in general, intimidating me. That was cured a while back when I was driving a semi-truck. You see things from a different perspective in that seat about 8-10 feet in the air.

This morning, I had a medical appointment and was traveling to that when some guy in an SUV came up behind me and followed so closely that I was sure that if our car backfired, the SUV would swerve to escape a gaseous emission. I could read the emblem on his grill, for crying out loud. This guy was really close. In the past, I would have panicked (That would have been too many years ago to count but I think many still do this), sped up or swerved. Now, I slow down until they get the idea. It does work. Their impatience causes wrecks especially in the area we live in because the road system is tight, curvy, barely wide two lanes and without shoulders much like a mountain region.

Eventually, the guy got the idea but not before we were almost out of particular area. We did get to the appointment on time though it was close. After that, we had some shopping to do. The grocery store that I needed to visit was about 16 miles from the medical office on a mostly two lane highway. This time, it was a semi-truck. These rigs are extremely heavy and will not stop on a dime. So, if I had had an emergency of some type, the truck could have plowed into us and killed us because of this extremely discourteous driver. Again, I could see the emblem on the grill.

PLEASE! I ask each of you to learn to be courteous drivers by giving the space needed between vehicles. I do realize that in certain situations, like a big traffic jam, the other drivers will only take advantage and sneak into the spot you created. I hate that too. It is more discourtesy. But what is more important…your spot in line, your spot on the highway or someone’s life? This is a serious problem and it is nationwide. People need to learn the rules of the road AND the courtesy that goes with it.

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