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Dr. Shaggy
shares from the deepest recesses of his heart (kind of) and humor
resides within.
"Why I Should Improve My
Driving, and The Things I Can Do To Improve My Driving" by Dr.
Shaggy
This is a paper that I was required to write as a substitute for a
traffic fine. I was required to write and submit it to the Palm Beach
County Court House, and on approval, points and fine would both be
withheld. Both were.
It occurs to me as I read the first half of this title, "Why I
Should Improve My Driving..." that the answer is overly obvious. On
deeper consideration of the meaning of the question, I comprehend a
simple truth: I take the ability and privilege of driving for granted. I
rarely take a second thought about what it means to handle a vehicle,
and the complementary traffic laws, responsibly. As I muse over my
thoughts, I envision the people on the roadways. Who are all these
people? I find that, in addition to myself, I share the road with
countless human souls. These are souls of children on their way to
school, souls of men on their way to work; their wives at home, taking
for granted that they will return at the end of the day. But everyone
does not return home at the end of the day. Ask the Mothers Against
Drunk Driving how many people do not return home at the end of their
days. Accidents are just that, accidents. But "how many accidents
are preventable accidents?," I ask myself. I wonder how many
children could be spared the experience of losing a parent, or how many
parents, after having wrestled with the task of raising a child to
maturity successfully, lose that object of their pride and
accomplishment? How many deaths could be prevented if everyone,
including me, would only take the time to pay that little extra bit of
attention and attempt to behave more defensively on the road? I find
that a gross injustice exists when I look introspectively and find that
I am among those who are responsible for failing to do their best. Every
time I get behind the wheel and, consciously or unconsciously, decide to
break any of even the simplest traffic laws, I become responsible for
the consequences of every transgression, every casualty, every angry
encounter that occurs on our roadways. By my neglect of safety and
responsibility, I condone all the misconduct of all the traffic
offenders everywhere. If breaking a law is wrong for one person, then it
is wrong for everyone, and consequently if it is wrong for everyone then
one person can never be favored or given special treatment.
This leads me to evaluate what things I can do to improve my driving. I
am sure that there are many things I can do. Some of them are realistic
and attainable and some of them are not. The first thing I will do is to
analyze my present driving habits. I will try to understand my
particular strengths and weaknesses. Many, many possibilities surface as
I finally confront my faults. I find that I sometimes exceed the speed
limit. I do not consistently wear my seat belt. I, in particular, did
drive the wrong way down a one-way street. This, by the way, was in
downtown West Palm Beach. My wife and I had decided to take our two
children, Erik; age five, and Sarah; age three, to the fountains to
play. After having dropped off my wife and children, I went to try to
find a place to park. I looked and looked, but could not find an
appropriate spot available. I drove up and down several streets, being
unfamiliar with the area, and could not find any place to park. By now I
was getting further and further from my family. I decided to try to
return and see if I could possibly find a parking area closer to the
fountains. That was when I made the fatal mistake. I turned the wrong
way down a one-way street (I am not sure of the name of the street) and
encountered an officer on a motorcycle. I was, at first, relieved to see
him, because I had hoped to ask him for help. Then the gravity of the
situation became apparent as he approached me. He looked angry. I
shuddered to understand what I had done wrong. The officer informed me
that I was headed the wrong way on a one-way street.
I completed the interaction with the officer, called my wife and
children to the car, and we went home. But I digress. I feel it is
important to try to be more aware of what is happening around me. I need
to be more sensitive to the actions of others so that I am able to
respond appropriately. If I should see, for example, someone in front of
me who cuts me off, I need to pull back and allow him to have his own
space. It is not worth risking myself or my family over someone else who
is dangerous. Also, I need to be more attentive to my own shortcomings.
Those times when I am aware that I am speeding, I need to consciously
force myself to slow down. When I am on the highway I will travel in the
far right lane to discipline myself to drive slower. Those times when I
am driving late at night or during peak rainy seasons I can use the
cruise control and set it on a relatively slower speed setting. On
holidays, when returning home late at night, I can try to be more aware
of the fact that there are people on the road who may have been drinking
(I, myself do not drink). If I should see someone weaving from lane to
lane I can choose an alternate route home rather than risk trying to
pass them. I can also identify particularly dangerous areas in town
where I frequently drive. I can avoid those areas that are most
congested during peak traffic hours.
I have noticed that where I live there are many children who play in the
street. They play basketball and other games because there is a
basketball hoop on one of the light poles. I often feel that these
children are in danger from those who are not familiar with the area. I
could keep a closer watch on the events happening in my own
neighborhood. Perhaps I will try harder to converse more often with my
neighbors. I can try to create a safety network of residents who are
aware of, and care about, what happens on our roads. Often I have seen a
great deal of litter on our street also. It seems to me that this kind
of thing, although a passive offense, can still be quite dangerous. I am
always careful not to litter and often find myself cleaning up glass and
broken objects from the street. Once an ice cream truck happened to be
driving down our street, (he drives by every day because the children
love ice cream) and as he passed directly in front of our home I heard a
loud bang. I feared it was a gunshot, but it was not, thankfully. The
ice cream truck had run over a piece of glass and blown out a tire. It
scared the children so badly that I do not think any of them bought any
ice cream that day. I felt bad for him because I felt like he might have
blamed me for having left the broken glass out there. I went to help
him, but he had no spare tire and we were unable to replace the flat
tire.
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