TAILING: Respect for One Another’s Safe Space
A FRIEND WARNED me that younger men don’t care and won’t read this because “everyone” knows that drivers are jerks these days. It’s a boring topic! And an over worked one at that. He said my comments are outdated because of today’s well-made cars and seatbelts. That my ideas might be OK for seniors who grew up when accidents regularly meant death and cars were subject to sudden brake failures or mechanical stalls at intersections, but not for him and his generation. I didn’t call him on his generalizations. I didn’t have facts enough. But, I wonder. Discourteous driving bugs me. It triggers me. It’s illegal. It’s wrong. How can the younger generation be indifferent to it? I think my friend is wrong.
Have you ever been cruising along at 55 mph or slightly above in a 55 zone when another driver closes in on your tail and hugs your auto’s rear end on a two-lane-highway. He keeps close on your tail up and down the hills, around curves, and through long No Passing zones? Or have you had someone hug your tail when you’re doing 80 on a 75mph freeway?
When that happens to me, my stomach clinches and I think words like “%#*!, rude, pushy, arrogant and undereducated.” My hands grip the wheel. Vague apprehensions of potential doom cloud my head. I push away fears of drunken drivers and work to quiet my ire with thoughts like “Maybe his wife is in labor and he’s rushing to the hospital.” Even so, I don’t like competitive power plays on the open road.
I appreciate skilled drivers with focus and alertness. I love to drive. The first time I traded up from sedate sedans and clunkers to a responsive car, my children teasingly renamed me Mama Andretti. Pushing the limits is exhilarating fun—on a speedway or inside safe, legal, courteous bounds. But pushing law-abiding drivers by driving too closely on public roads risks human life. There is so much tailgating in our part of the country that I’m beginning to wonder if media repetitions of auto chases and wild drivers have corrupted respect for the lethal potential in 2,000 to 4,000 pounds moving at 55 mph? Tailed or tailing another car at close quarters on the highway is not fun. It is insane and dangerous.
I live in a rural county with more deer than any place in the state. Old timers warn new residents, “It’s not if you hit a deer, it’s when . . .” In the spring, big old turtles crawl across our paved country roads. Trumpeter swans nest in wetlands beside busy intersections. Wild turkeys have family meetings where least expected. Cyclists and runners from near-by colleges and universities surprise unwary drivers. Farm equipment around the next poorly banked bend may suddenly slow traffic to 15 mph. The legal speed limit for two lane paved roads here is 55 MPH.
Around here, all my friends have noticed the tailgating, particularly on a local stretch of open flat two-lane blacktop we all use to get to the nearest towns. I was sickened one Sunday afternoon by a family that followed me closely for miles. I was on cruise control at a couple miles over the speed limit. Oncoming traffic made passing me impossible. When they finally zoomed by, the children in the back seat made ugly faces and finger gestures.
Every winter, as soon as our famously bad roads get icy or slick with snow, driving habits change; tailgating stops and respect for other vehicles and drivers sets in. So, it seems to me that driving too closely is not a true addiction. Might it possibly be a selfish character trait— like a me-first attitude? Or a testosterone-driven bit of local competitiveness? At best, it could be immaturity or simply unprofessional driving habits from inadequate Driver’s Ed programs. Perhaps the cause doesn’t matter, since carefulness during the winter months indicates that tailgaters can change. They can follow the cars ahead of them at reasonable distances inside of lawful speed limits—merely by thinking about it and making a choice. (I’m not talking about passing the mailman’s car or revving up to get by the occasional driver who insists on going 35 MPH in a 55. Under safe conditions I pass too.)
In a world of vast and complex mystery, my personal gripe against tailgating is a minor trifle. And in the eternal plan it’s a petty issue, unless perhaps you’ve been rear-ended or you or your family has suffered the trauma of a severe automobile crash.
Nevertheless, if you are interested in avoiding rear end collisions and want to do your part to curtail tailgating, I strongly suggest checking out this website for safe following distances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-second_rule.
And pass on a link to this blog. Add your personal comments to your emails and texts. Interestingly, I’ve driven in many parts of the country and have noticed a local flavor to driving dangers. Driving through Southeastern Indiana ten years ago I noticed less tailgating but in that part of the country many farmers would pull their pickups onto a 55 MPH two lane at 15 MPH and take a mile to shift up to 45. In Northern Illinois, especially Lake and McHenry Counties, I’ve noticed that most drivers, compared to those in my rural county, keep a safe distance between cars. But in that part of the Midwest, in fast moving traffic on four to six lane roads, it’s essential to keep alert for sudden not signaled lane changes.
Driving habits and patterns vary between locales. Is there a particular danger in your part of the country? Talk about it. Email about it. Alert the young people you know and pass this on. Safety reminders truly do help most of us to be more watchful and make better choices.
