30 years ago, we took a trip to Scotland. One of the beautiful things about Scotland, apart from the scenery, was the civility of the drivers there. For example, on the Isle of Skye, there are many “single-track” roads, with turnouts placed at intervals so drivers can let each other pass. I quickly learned whoever arrived at the turnout first would allow the approaching car to pass. Apparently, in Scotland at the time, “there can be only one,” meant that only one car could go at a time, and neither of us had to lose our head over it. All it took was civil behavior. (I also learned that rush hour in the highlands was a tale of cows and sheep surrounding our car, but that’s a story for another time.)
Fast forward to the USA in 2024. It seems to me drivers here have been getting less civil for the last couple of decades. At the risk of unleashing my inner curmudgeon, the number of cars I’ve seen running red lights has multiplied in recent years. For some drivers, yellow used to mean, “hurry up, the light’s about to turn red.” Now, red is “just a suggestion,” especially if one is driving a pick-up truck or high-end car. When the light turns green, I look both ways before entering the intersection, just as my driving coach taught me. The number of horn honks I’ve received for waiting more than 900 milliseconds to start has also increased. It’s as if some people think stop lights signal a drag race. Light runners and horn honkers seem to feel they are somehow more important than everyone else.
A trip to Indianapolis typically involves someone in the left lane driving under the speed limit, another driver speeding while changing lanes several times per mile, a yoke of tractor trailers blocking the right two lanes, a handful of drivers checking their phones for text messages, a last-minute Louie who darts across two lanes for a surprise exit, and a few individualists who seem to have forgotten turn signals exist. Then we have the tailgaters. They seem to self-replicate as the weather gets worse. No wonder we see multi-car pileups in snow, fog, or driving rain.
Apparently, no one has tried to teach drivers to find a speed – and a lane – and chill out. Traffic backups are often caused by gratuitous lane changing leading to crashes or at least dozens of brake lights, as other drivers are forced to compensate for all the Cowboy Bobs on the road. My inner curmudgeon shouts, “You must think you’re so important! But you don’t own the road!” My language isn’t that clean, but that’s the gist of it.
A lot of people seem to believe the rules don’t apply to them. It doesn’t help that many in high places have expressed the same sentiment. I’d argue that as respect for the law declines among those who are supposed to uphold it, others will conclude that the law is not that important for them either. It’s all a matter of what you can get away with, not what is right, or even what might keep you from harming others. Our sense of individualism is strong. Do what you want. Let others “deal with it.”
One day a semi in the center lane threw off a retread just as we were about to pass. Thanks to the engineers at Mazda, I was able to brake, steer, and evade the flying sheet of rubber and steel by a foot or two. Now, should someone have done a better job inspecting the tires? Yes. Should there be better regulations about retreads used at highway speeds? Maybe. The upshot is that my little Mazda 3 and I were left to deal with the danger.
What we see on the highways is a microcosm of what we have in society. Many try to follow the rules. Some defy the rules. And some just don’t care. In the end, we all must deal with the consequences in some way. We might get lucky. Our little car might be very maneuverable. Our reflexes might be very good. But what if we are not driving such a great little car and our reflexes are not quite as good? What if our cowboyish self-centered attitude gets someone hurt or killed? What if it turns out that we are not more important than all the other drivers?
My driving coach used to tell us, “Ya gotta know all and see all when you’re behind the wheel.” The same goes for life in general. We all need to pay attention to how our choices might affect others. Every day we are engaged in activities that would be fine if no one else ever had to pay the price for them. The hard truth is that actions have consequences. We are not entitled to drive like maniacs. We are not entitled to live that way either. My coach tried to teach us that we needed to care about what two tons of rolling steel can do. I take this to mean that we need to care about our life choices in much the same way. Like a single-track road in the highlands, the road of life requires civility.
MurrayWorks 