Driving carefully
Late to work, I was driving down the interstate at eight o’clock this morning as I listened to the NPR news update. They talked about the coal miners in Utah and the deplorable conditions in China’s mines where thousands die each year in mining accidents. And they talked about school shootings and the war in Iraq. And as I listened, I remembered the wreck my dad had a few weeks ago on the same stretch of highway, when he was hit from behind by someone who apparently feel asleep at the wheel. I glanced into the back seat of the car, where C’s car seat base awaits her first days at work with me.
I wasn’t driving recklessly or faster than traffic. I wasn’t even in the left lane; having a child has made me drive less aggressively of late. But even so, I had the urge to park my car and stick my head in the sand.
It’s amazing how fragile we are and how little respect we have for that fact. I guess it’d just about drive you crazy if you paid too much attention to how easily you could be hurt.
Still, I think I’ll drive even more carefully from now on.
August 20th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Try commuting on two wheels, if you want to feel this even more acutely.
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August 20th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Seems like you’d have to pay extra attention to your surroundings.
Luckily, you have fewer distractions, too. And you can hear better, too.
Still, the most reckless drivers I see are motorcyclists.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:54 am
My husband used to be a reckless motorcycle rider for a very brief time-until he fell off his bike head first wearing shorts,sneakers and no helmet . ( I don’t think he liked sitting in a tub for three hours having burning gravel picked out of his arms and legs piece by piece. ) Unfortuately,alot of motorcycle riders just don’t realize how dangerous they are until it’s too late. I know that this will sound stupid to some people ,but before he bought the bike I told him that I didn’t think that a father with a young family should be riding a motorcycle. He didn’t listen ,but he did learn the hard way. I’m glad that his motorcycle phase was very short lived!
August 21st, 2007 at 12:47 pm
I think there are plenty of safe motorcyclists. And by NO means do I see anywhere near the recklessness I see by drivers of cars. trucks, and SUVs. It may be the sheer number of these automobiles vs. motorcycles, but I can’t imagine seeing that many reckless cyclists. They’d all be dead! I’ve been raised (trained?) to be very aware of motorcycles. I think it would do everyone a bit of good to pay extra attention to this. Cyclists have better and more available senses but it ip to us driving giant SUV and autos to be aware of where we are too. Unfortunately, that’s not how most people believe.
August 21st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
I see reckless cyclists all the time. They speed up our street at twice the speed limit (yes, some cars do that, too, but half of the motorcyclists do it and only a fraction of the cars do), and they pass cars by driving on the dotted line between them. They swerve back and forth and ride my bumper.
Perhaps some of that is from driving down Chapman, though, which is kind of like a tame dragon, I guess.
August 21st, 2007 at 12:56 pm
And by NO means do I see anywhere near the recklessness I see by drivers of cars.
It’s just more noticeable to folx who ARE in cars, etc. I’ve seen my share of insanity on two wheels, but by and large, I see cyclists being MUCH more cautious, in general, than auto drivers. You’ll never see anyone on two wheels trying to use their cell phone, eating, or applying makeup while riding, for example, but chances are that you see at least one of these going on inside an SUV on every commute.
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August 21st, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Definitely true. Every day I see idiots doing stuff like that in cars.
And I didn’t really mean to suggest, btw, that motorcyclists are inherently more dangerous drivers than car drivers are. I just meant to say I see plenty of reckless cyclists doing really reckless things that you can’t even do in cars.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:37 am
When you do have her in the carseat in the back, you MUST resist looking back at her even when she fusses. Pull over if you must to check on her but keep your focus on the road. It’s so tempting to look in the rearview mirror at the baby, but be safe and don’t do it.
Good luck with the baby commute and having her at work. Maybe you could do some practice runs before the actual first day.