Wednesday, August 20, 2003

I have a follow-on to the letter written by James Greer, published in The Citizen Aug. 13.

Ironically, Jim was riding his motorcycle home from work one evening this week, and was within view of his home when he was unexpectedly hit from behind by a motorist in a hurry. His back was broken, but that might have been from his being hit by the car again after he fell off his bike. The other driver may have been careless, or in a hurry, or impatient, or inattentive at that moment.

Fellow drivers, you share the road with other living, breathing people. Therefore, I ask you to ponder the possible consequences of the attitudes you adopt whenever you slide behind that wheel.

Do you look at your car as a source of pride and power, a projection of your image to the outside world? Are you the best, most important, fastest, or smartest driver on the road? Do you like to show off your driving skills, the ones that got you the nickname of "Mario Andretti"?

Do you see yourself as more important than all those "idiots" you have to share the road with? Are you impatient to get where you are going? Do you tailgate the car in front of you in an attempt to intimidate that "fool who won't get out of the way"? Do you ever become angry or stressed when you drive? Do you yell at other drivers? Call them names? Does it happen once in a while, or everytime you drive anywhere? Are you usually in a hurry because you have to get somewhere right now? Do bad drivers infuriate you? Make you want to strike back? Do the kids in the backseat, or your radio, or your phone conversation ever distract you from concentrating on the road?

Alternatively, I suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, so you can afford to feel generous toward other drivers. See if you can enjoy letting other people merge in front of you or give them a chance to get out of a parking lot or side street when they are stuck due to a long stream of traffic.

You won't get frazzled by someone in front of you slowing you down by making a left turn on a busy two-lane road; you have plenty of time! You might even enjoy making excuses for the poor driving skills on the part of other people. Make a game of it by seeing what kind of excuses you can make for them. Try phrases like, "That driver must be lost," "I bet that driver had a hard day at the office," or, "Whoops, that one must be a teenager at heart!" It will calm you down, ease back your blood pressure, and make the roads safer for travelers of all types.

Mary Barranti

Peachtree City