There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that inexperienced drivers flock to the roads on weekends. Whether they are public transport commuters exercising their once-a-week motoring freedom, learner drivers on their weekly lesson, or certain elderly motorists (clearly past their automotive prime) who find themselves in the thick of traffic like a deer stunned by a cars headlight, the overall effect is the same: motoring mayhem.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't believe all old people are bad drivers, or that all learners are bad drivers, its just a fact that some of them are, and the ones that are, all seem to drive near me. My wife tells me that I am not tolerant enough and that I need to learn more patience, and I suppose that is true for the most part, but occasionally I come across a driver that seems to go beyond the call of duty specified in the "Idiots Guide to Stupid Driving Practices".
Like yesterday. I was travelling along a main road (a highway in fact) at the designated speed of 70km/h, when a driver decides to exit from a petrol station just in front of me. I know they saw me coming because our eyes made contact. I saw this person actually looking at me as they drove directly in front of me and proceeded to drive at about 30km/h. I had to take evasive action and I fortunately changed lanes in time to avoid an accident.
Strangely I wasn't particularly angry about this, but these sort of moments (that happen much more frequently on Saturdays) lead me to hold a grave concern for the safety of fellow motorists on our roads.
Whenever I wonder why a particular person is acting with what I consider to be common-sense-challenged behaviour I have two thoughts pop into my mind. One of them appears almost instantaneously, and the other slowly oozes into my consciousness. The first thought is, of course, a dumbfounded wonderment at the stupidity of some people. The second thought is that the roads really are an amplification environment for the single-minded selfishness and imbecility of mankind. Perhaps for the violent-tempered, arrogant-minded people of our world also.
Sometimes I find myself yelling at another driver (within the confines of my own car) with derisive contempt, only to realise how foolish I was only moments later. In this way I am the worst me when I am behind the wheel and I am confronted with foolish driving. I rarely speak this way when I am not isolated inside my transportation capsule, and I always regret it later. I do however refrain from yelling obscenities out the window or even worse, exiting my vehicle to abuse a fellow motorist. Both I have seen happen on a number of occasions.
Today though I was merely frustrated. Being caught in a traffic jam is bad enough. What is worse though, is escaping a traffic jam, only to find yourself in another one just as bad. This I did twice in rather quick succession, and each time I detoured further off my intended path. My purpose was to avoid the deathly crawl of the "funeral procession" that was building up to pay congested homage to the poor victim up ahead. You see, there was a fatality further up the road (this I discovered later) and all northbound traffic had all but ground to a halt.
Oblivious to the reason, I managed to skirt around the worst of the traffic, and with an air of self-congratulatory satisfaction I made my intended destination only some 15 minutes later than expected. I had expelled all gloomy thoughts of the traffic jam until I returned home two and a half hours later. The traffic was clear in my direction southbound, but northbound it was worse than ever. Then I noticed the fatality and the Accident Investigation Squad, and the car-packed multiple lanes of vehicles moving at a snails pace through the single lane detour.
I felt very sorry for each and every one of the occupants of those vehicles, though also feeling exceptionally glad that I was not one of them. The reality is that sometimes these events are unavoidable in our imperfect world and we perhaps should learn two things. First that there is always someone in a worse situation than us (namely the deceased and their family in this case) and secondly that our behaviour in these circumstances (especially the amplified environment inside the four wheeled road rage device) is an indication of our true character. If our behaviour doesn't meet the necessary standard then our character needs work.
But why have we become such modified creatures when inside a motor vehicle, and especially behind the wheel.
The reason is that we have become a much more selfish people in every environment of our modern world. We expect instant gratification in all areas of life, especially with respect to satisfying our physical and emotional needs, and we are constantly encouraged to demand our rights and equality at all times.
And this transfers over to our roads as inconsiderate attitudes (whether directly intentional or not), and purblind lack of awareness of other motorists.
Behaviour on our roads will therefore not change unless the attitudes of the driver, (apart from being a driver), are changed, beginning with you and I. How we go about this attitudinal modification will have to wait for another blog and another day.
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