Tag: reckless driving

STOP THE DANGER ðŸ›‘🚦

This idea was given to me by the love of my life. When we returned from an amazing weekend away we encountered and passed by several accidents. I am very grateful we were not involved in any of them. When you think of serious accidents on the road, usually drunk driving comes to mind. Rightfully so. In the country I live in, every day 37 people are killed in drunk-driving crashes. That is roughly one person every 39 minutes. That is inexcusable. With the advent of Uber and Lyft, there are so many options to use that there is no reason to get behind the wheel when you are impared.

Here is the scary part, according to another survey that is not even the greatest threat. 56% of fatal crashes stem from reckless driving. I get it, you are waiting for an important call or text. Maybe you had to leave the house before you could get your make up perfect. You don’t want to show up looking like you just got out of bed. Do you know what is worse? Not showing up at all. I tell Margie all of the time, “Better late than not at all.” If you feel you must do whatever it is that is pulling your attention away from the road, do yourself a favor and pull yourself away from the road. Can you imagine causing several thousand dollars worth of damage physical injury just to put on your lipstick? Sounds silly if we word it that way. To me, this is still not the worst thing to do while driving.

In reckless driving, you are trying to do too much. What is worse is “aggressive driving”. These are people who are full of rage. Their gas tank may be full, but their patience is usually on empty. We saw lots of these on our journey home. One man decided for himself that the red light we were all waiting on was too long for him and just went through. Another fellow drove with two wheels on the sidewalk at roughly 15 miles over the limit just to get around traffic. Ironically, we both got to the red light at the same time. I hear many people in the news arrested for such activities claiming their actions do not hurt anyone.

Let us look at the numbers for reckless and aggressive driving. According to Bankrate, speeding – a form of aggressive driving – was responsible for 11,258 deaths. Those numbers are from 2021, they have only increased since then. Road rage, when people get angry at other drivers, was responsible for 12,610 injuries and 218 murders. Can you believe that it is rational in someone’s mind to murder another person because you do not like their driving? As they are being sentenced to give up several years of their life behind bars, what will their reason be? He cut me off? Ridiculous.

Take steps to avoid being a reckless or aggressive driver. Wait to check your social media, or pull over to do so. If having your make up just so means that much to you, be ready to sacrifice your punctuality. Either that, or begin getting ready sooner. If you suffer from road rage, try a quick meditation, such as paying attention to your breath, before starting out. Please, save all the stunt driving for your video games. It is not worth your life, or worse someone else’s. This shouldn’t be any surprise, but never get behind the wheel if you are under the influence of any chemical.

All you need to do is view the pain caused to families who have been ripped apart by a person who took too many risks behind the wheel. If you are putting other people’s lives at risk, remember someone may be doing the same to yours. Only by acting together can we eliminate this entirely preventable tragedy.

WHY BE KIND?🤔

How about this for a powerful picture? The point is fairly clear. It is so easy to get upset with our fellow humans. They can certainly give us plenty reasons to do so, can’t they? One of my annoyances lately is reckless driving. It really is on the rise. So much so, our city is now issuing a fine of $10,000 for reckless driving. This may seem extreme, but when you consider the cost in both money and life that this can cause, it is understandable. There is also no reason for it. The streets are not a video game. It used to really upset me to see this, and it still does on occasion. One goofy phrase I have introduced into my vernacular is “Maybe they have to poop.” Let us be honest. We have all been there. Innocently driving home when all of a sudden… nature calls. In an effort to reach a destination where it is safe to conduct our business we may have to bend a few traffic rules. I am not sure if there is a rise in intestinal distress, but I sure find myself using this phrase a little more often these days.

It is not just crazy drivers that this applies to. I recall a story that Stephen Covey once told. He was on the subway with a man whose children were running wild and yelling. As the ride went on the children behaved worse and worse. The father seemed oblivious to their behavior. Finally, Mr. Covey asked the man, “Don’t you think you should do something about your children’s behavior?” The man looked up and looked at his children who were misbehaving and replied, “You are right. The truth is we just left the hospital where their mother passed away. They don’t really know how to act and to be honest, neither do I.” Imagine how he felt after hearing that. It is true that his children were not behaving properly for riding the subway, and Stephen Covey was in his right to speak up and say something. Not knowing the complete story behind someone’s actions can certainly lower the amount of compassion we treat them with. Just like the story above, we never know the full story behind people.

Traumatic childhoods, abusive relationships, and stressful home life may not be excuses to treat someone with no dignity or respect, but it can help us to understand and maybe help that person heal. This is not easy. I still get upset with others and may be tempted to give them something to heal from rather than to help them heal, but stories like the one above are a stark reminder that is not the right course of action. When someone does something to hurt us physically, mentally or emotionally, it can be quite difficult to stop and consider what made them act is such a fashion. If we learn to do so, we can not only reduce our stress, but help others and the world we live in.