[rant warning]

[rant warning]

An open letter to the folks I shared the highway with during my 400 mile journey down the coast yesterday:

To whom it may concern (and, more pointedly, to a few of those who think it doesn't concern you),

The 4-5 car length of space that I leave between my car and the car in front of me when I'm dashing down the highway at 65-70 miles per hour was created on purpose; it's not because I'm stupid, sleepy, frightened, nor ignorant. We call it "braking space". It's considered an act of sanity when moving at high speeds with others moving at high speeds so near. The space isn't there for you to zip your car into to show me how stupid, sleepy, frightened, or ignorant I'm being.

You might enjoy trying out this neat little tool that all cars come equipped with called a "turn signal". It's one of those levers you have typically sticking out on the steering column. This tool is what drivers use to communicate their intentions to one another on the road. Go out to your car right now and check it out. Neat, isn't it? I know! I think it's wonderful and amazing that cars have it, too. Next time you want to swerve into the braking space I've created in front of me, give that lever a try to let me know your intentions and I'll be more than happy to accommodate you.

While I'm at it, can we talk about the sign on a two-lane highway that reads "Slower Traffic: Keep Right" –– do you know what "Slower Traffic" means? That's basically the folks who need to drive below the posted speed limit for various safety reasons. It is not an open grant of right-of-way and entitlement for individuals who prefer to drive 15-40% above the speed limit. The sign does not give you a sanction for driving at a one-car-length distance from my rear bumper in an endeavor to "hint" at how wrong I am that I prefer to drive safely––or that I don't have the urge slow down and move over behind the trucks and trailers on the right for every person who comes up behind me trying to arrive 300 miles down the road 4 minutes before I do.

I would ask you to offer a good reason for your actions, however, as I think of all the possible answers, there isn't anything you could come up with that wouldn't sound lame or self-serving. If you really need to get past me, you can go through the gaps of the trucks and trailers on the right at your breakneck speed. That way, you'll be helping out the Highway Patrol to get a better view of you zipping past as they wait behind blinds alongside the road.

It would probably just be a good thing if you drove at the posted speed limit. It seems oppressive to your "exceptional skills" as a driver, I know. However, you should know that it has been everyone around you, braking as you veer in front them, speeding up as you nearly nick their bumper behind them and swerving out of your way in general, who have used their genuinely adept driving skills to give you the false impression that you have any real competence behind the wheel.

Here is something you may not have thought of: speed limits aren't there to rule over you. They are there to give prediction to everyone who uses this great invention, the car––which gives ease to our lives, but can also take lives, if used poorly. In fact, it is precisely this prediction which has added to your delusion that you are such a superior driver. If you couldn't predict that most other drivers were going to drive at a specific speed, you wouldn't have the opportunity to weave the fabric of your racing blue-ribbon amongst the rest of us.

Just some food for thought.

[end rant]

For everyone else on the road whom I shared my travels with: I will be oodles of thrilled to meet you on the road to adventure again. I look forward to it.

Sincerely,
Robin






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