1-800 How's My Driving?
You've seen the back of brave trucks. A toll-free number is lettered in nice big font for other drivers to call and report what they've seen. It is supposed to mean you're behind a really good driver. Most of the time, I would agree. But oh that time when a delivery truck caught me off guard as it burst out of an alley and nearly ran me off the road, did I ever take up that 1-800 offer to call in.
When I was in college and very new to the Christian faith, someone told me that the highly respected Billy Graham said that you could tell the spiritual condition of a person by the way they drove. That was confusing. What could driving a car possibly have to do with one's spiritual life? I thought those were two separate ideas and immediately shrugged it off.
We currently live in Minnesota where it's winter and the roads are packed with snow. Most freeways are plowed clean and sanded, but highway entrances and side roads aren't as bare. It is not uncommon to skid around street corners or lose traction just trying to get up your driveway. After a fresh snow, you'll see handfuls of cars in ditches as you navigate toward your destination. And don't forget to triple your travel time - and this is in a state that knows winter!
I also lived here as a teen when I got my driver's permit and pride myself in my "snow driving" abilities. Since then, I have lived in parts of the country not used to such regular snowfalls and have dealt with snow newbies that use their brakes too much or drive far too fast for the conditions who seem surprised when they end up in the ditch. This goes for heavy rain, too. Slow down, people.
Living in Minnesota means you drive in four seasons of weather, but it never ceases to amaze me how recklessly many Minnesotans drive in any season. The first rain after weeks of warm, sunny weather causes roads to be as slick as ice. Time to drive slower, right? Foggy gray days mean it's time to turn on your headlights so other drivers can see you. And snow means to slow down while not slamming on the brakes. Just a few common sense driving tips.
Last week we had our first blizzard of the season. Road conditions were so poor many businesses and schools closed early. The only reason I was on a yet-to-be-plowed freeway was pure vanity. My hair appointment was 18 miles away and those roots would not wait. The three southbound lanes were reduced to one drivable lane only because of the tire ruts carved in the snow by other determined drivers. When you drive on packed snow of any kind, you lose tire traction and must slow it down and avoid braking if at all possible or you will lose control. You'll overcompensate by turning your steering wheel round and round like a bumper car. So on this cold, low visibility day of vanity as I carefully made my way to my adored hair stylist, a speeding red pick up truck suddenly appeared in my review mirror. It roared up to my bumper and the driver began furiously pounding on his horn over and over. What was I supposed to do, use my helicopter function and hoist up in the air so he could continue his speed in 'his' lane? There was nowhere for me to go and I certainly couldn't press harder on the gas in that weather. He zoomed around me, rear tires spitting snow onto the side and front of my car.
Later on while heading home in the dark, a neighbor decided to tailgate me on residential roads still awaiting a plow. My car barely gripped the road as we went around a curve and I spun onto our street, seeking more tire grooves to follow with only headlights to guide me. That driver pushed on by, unconcerned about treating another person - much less a neighbor - so rudely.
The biggest act of road rudeness that happens frequently in any kind of weather is when I try to merge from one highway onto another and have only an eighth of a mile to work my way across 2 lanes of traffic to get in my turn off lane. I am one of those people who uses turn signals before making a turn (not during) and will slow down to get behind the other cars in order to flow into the turn lane. I don't dart. I can't tell you how many people speed up when they see my turn signals come on and close the gap where I intended to insert my car. Sometimes they don't stay in the lane, they skirt around me.
My other somewhat frequent driving experience is when another driver cuts me off and then gives me the finger. Or, sometimes they don't see me and I toot my horn so they don't hit me. Another finger. The other day a lady slowly emerged from the entrance ramp to the freeway and drifted across my lane without being aware of anyone else. She had her ear buds on and was unwrapping a sandwich on her lap.
Billy Graham was right. You can see what a person values when you place them behind a steering wheel. When they think of themselves more than anyone else, they tailgate and majestically pop the finger. When they don't value other people, they honk at them to move out of their way during a snow storm, take the parking spot or don't stop for a mom pushing a baby stroller. When they are proud of their vehicle's brand, they speed up so no one can merge in front of them.
More often than not, I'll wager these drivers cause accidents and distress as they ignore the nameless others in their way. If they knew the other driver, I don't think they would treat them the same way they do when they think the other is anonymous.
I am so thankful no one is anonymous to Jesus. Each one of us matters. Just check out who He hung out with. Here's to putting those egos in the glove boxes before inserting the key in the ignition.
When I was in college and very new to the Christian faith, someone told me that the highly respected Billy Graham said that you could tell the spiritual condition of a person by the way they drove. That was confusing. What could driving a car possibly have to do with one's spiritual life? I thought those were two separate ideas and immediately shrugged it off.
We currently live in Minnesota where it's winter and the roads are packed with snow. Most freeways are plowed clean and sanded, but highway entrances and side roads aren't as bare. It is not uncommon to skid around street corners or lose traction just trying to get up your driveway. After a fresh snow, you'll see handfuls of cars in ditches as you navigate toward your destination. And don't forget to triple your travel time - and this is in a state that knows winter!
I also lived here as a teen when I got my driver's permit and pride myself in my "snow driving" abilities. Since then, I have lived in parts of the country not used to such regular snowfalls and have dealt with snow newbies that use their brakes too much or drive far too fast for the conditions who seem surprised when they end up in the ditch. This goes for heavy rain, too. Slow down, people.
Living in Minnesota means you drive in four seasons of weather, but it never ceases to amaze me how recklessly many Minnesotans drive in any season. The first rain after weeks of warm, sunny weather causes roads to be as slick as ice. Time to drive slower, right? Foggy gray days mean it's time to turn on your headlights so other drivers can see you. And snow means to slow down while not slamming on the brakes. Just a few common sense driving tips.
Last week we had our first blizzard of the season. Road conditions were so poor many businesses and schools closed early. The only reason I was on a yet-to-be-plowed freeway was pure vanity. My hair appointment was 18 miles away and those roots would not wait. The three southbound lanes were reduced to one drivable lane only because of the tire ruts carved in the snow by other determined drivers. When you drive on packed snow of any kind, you lose tire traction and must slow it down and avoid braking if at all possible or you will lose control. You'll overcompensate by turning your steering wheel round and round like a bumper car. So on this cold, low visibility day of vanity as I carefully made my way to my adored hair stylist, a speeding red pick up truck suddenly appeared in my review mirror. It roared up to my bumper and the driver began furiously pounding on his horn over and over. What was I supposed to do, use my helicopter function and hoist up in the air so he could continue his speed in 'his' lane? There was nowhere for me to go and I certainly couldn't press harder on the gas in that weather. He zoomed around me, rear tires spitting snow onto the side and front of my car.
Later on while heading home in the dark, a neighbor decided to tailgate me on residential roads still awaiting a plow. My car barely gripped the road as we went around a curve and I spun onto our street, seeking more tire grooves to follow with only headlights to guide me. That driver pushed on by, unconcerned about treating another person - much less a neighbor - so rudely.
The biggest act of road rudeness that happens frequently in any kind of weather is when I try to merge from one highway onto another and have only an eighth of a mile to work my way across 2 lanes of traffic to get in my turn off lane. I am one of those people who uses turn signals before making a turn (not during) and will slow down to get behind the other cars in order to flow into the turn lane. I don't dart. I can't tell you how many people speed up when they see my turn signals come on and close the gap where I intended to insert my car. Sometimes they don't stay in the lane, they skirt around me.
My other somewhat frequent driving experience is when another driver cuts me off and then gives me the finger. Or, sometimes they don't see me and I toot my horn so they don't hit me. Another finger. The other day a lady slowly emerged from the entrance ramp to the freeway and drifted across my lane without being aware of anyone else. She had her ear buds on and was unwrapping a sandwich on her lap.
Billy Graham was right. You can see what a person values when you place them behind a steering wheel. When they think of themselves more than anyone else, they tailgate and majestically pop the finger. When they don't value other people, they honk at them to move out of their way during a snow storm, take the parking spot or don't stop for a mom pushing a baby stroller. When they are proud of their vehicle's brand, they speed up so no one can merge in front of them.
More often than not, I'll wager these drivers cause accidents and distress as they ignore the nameless others in their way. If they knew the other driver, I don't think they would treat them the same way they do when they think the other is anonymous.
I am so thankful no one is anonymous to Jesus. Each one of us matters. Just check out who He hung out with. Here's to putting those egos in the glove boxes before inserting the key in the ignition.
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