Article NO. 8
2.15.01
DRIVING CAN BE FUN AND MAY COST YOU YOUR LIFE
Becoming an accomplished driver takes time. It does not mean that if you can rev up the engine and move the car forward and backward, you already know how to drive. It takes more than that before you can really call yourself an expert driver.
It is said that when you are driving, your other foot is inside a coffin. Perhaps this is extreme but it only highlights the danger in being inside a moving vehicle- and moving fast- and its direction and speed may not be under your effective control.
Learning to drive takes time and the hardest part is training your limbs, your mind and your eyes to become a coordinated whole in moving the controls, starting from the gas pedal, to the brakes and the wheel. Driving is akin to playing the piano; everything must contribute to the smooth coordinated movement of the entire body.
When you are learning to drive you are like a baby toddler who is struggling to master the art of walking. The baby wobbles, stumbles and often falls flat on his face. Likewise, as you drive you may smash the car on walls, fall off the road shoulders and wreak the fenders. Scratches and dents often cannot be avoided and you may even fall into a canal or sideswipe other cars. It takes practice, patience and caution and yes, dexterity, to maneuver a car especially in tight places.
A beginner’s Waterloo is the sudden stop right smack at an uphill road and, he has to gingerly control the car from sliding down. In this situation applying the brake is not the best move especially if the car behind him is just a half-foot away and the engine may spurt dead because the learner gets rattled as he nervously tries to regulate idling.
But once driving is mastered, it is fun to coast along the hightways to suck in the refreshing breeze and take in the scenery. For many men (and they have hang-ups, I’m sure) driving becomes a symbol of sexual power and manliness and they use the car like a penis to show off. It gives them a sense of well-being, of strength, power and dominance.
Many drivers, however, do not have elementary courtesy on the road. They are ruffians as they are abusive, pushy and awfully discourteous. They always want to put one over another driver, want to push aside other drivers and always are in a hurry to maneuver even if clearly they do not have the right o f way. Many accidents and altercations occur because of these kind of drivers.
The only way to deal with them is by applying defensive driving. It is like applying judo techniques. You yield to them and anticipate their rude way of driving and by doing so you avoid accidents which could happen in a flash. After all, allowing their boorishness to prevail will only tax your patience teeny weeny and it is not much if you consider the other alternative – a tragic accident which could even cost you your life.
There are important pointers when you drive. First, when you drink do not drive, when you drive do not drink. The two do not go together well. Alcohol makes you drowsy, slows down your reaction and warps your sense of distance. Second, always excercise caution when driving under adverse conditions. Rain, winds and night gloom can severely limit your sight. Third, make sure everything is working before you undertake a long trip. Are the brakes okay? The headlights? The signal lights? How about the oil level? Is there enough water in the radiator? Make sure it is not leaking. Are your tires of sufficient air pressure? Severe insufficient air pressure on one side can spin you off the road when you make a sudden brake.
Third, make sure you always have copies of your license and car papers or else their absence will be hazardous to your pocket once highway patrol checks on you.
