On Driving in anticlimatic

I drive more than the average person, I’d say. Mostly for work. Commuting from the town I live, around the bay to the town I work, every day. Driving from one job to the next. Sometimes six in a day. Driving from remote jobs to parts stores a half hour away, and back. Often multiple times. Driving to lunch somewhere every day I don’t pack one, fighting traffic there, fighting traffic back.

I bought my truck with not even a hundred thousand miles on it four years ago. Today? It has close to three hundred thousand miles on it. The volume of time I’ve put into crawling through traffic, up icy two-tracks in the woods, and just auto-pilot commuting, has taught me a few things about driving, and what your objective responsibilities aught to be as a driver.

The most important thing to keep in mind, when driving, is your constituents. Although it can feel good letting people go in front of you, who might otherwise be waiting, your primary responsibility is to the people behind you. If you are leading a train of cars, it is on you to lead them. When the light turns green, you better have already jumped on that gas pedal. If some pedestrians are looking to cross when traffic gives them a break, and they are not directly inside a crosswalk thereby mandating you stop for them by law, remember that the people behind you are more entitled to avoid waiting than the pedestrians. Pass them with a respectful speed at a respectful berth but don’t prioritize them over your constituents.

The second most important thing to keep in mind, are the goddamn pedestrians. Especially the cyclists and dog walkers. You do, not, want, to, hit, a, person. Obviously. But I strongly advise coming to nearly a complete stop when passing someone with a dog if you are sharing a street with them (no sidewalks), and keep your eyes on the dog. Wave to signal that you see them.

Understand that driving is an important form of social interaction with its own relationships, fads, formalities, and the like. I remember driving from Toledo Ohio all the way through Kentucky and Tennessee and finally parting somewhere east of Asheville, the entire time in close proximity to this black bronco. We never spoke, but always exited for fuel at the same time, and got back on the freeway at the same time. After a point I think we both made a slight effort to stick together, because when we finally parted- when they took an exit that I myself couldn’t justify- I felt loss. I’ve never forgotten them.