Keep a cool head for summer driving
Spring has sprung and gone, and things are heating up for summer driving. Before the temperatures rise, it’s time to update the things that raise drivers’ ires.
The universal driving aggravation list keeps growing, but there are some perennial favorites that persist in readers’ reports. Printing these peeves will serve a dual purpose: 1) you can avoid committing them, lessening your chance of initiating road rage, and 2) you can be prepared to remain cool and calm while others commit them.
Fixed Position Left-laners
Once again, legal use of the left lane on multi-lane roads is allowed for vehicles about to turn left, overtaking and passing other vehicles, and moving left to allow a vehicle to merge from the right. Other than those reasons, please stay out of that lane. Emergency vehicles, and drivers who wish to speed will appreciate it — you may even avoid a ticket.
This peeve seems to be on many annoyance lists, including those that are not driving-specific. In a recent interview, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman was asked if anything got to him off of the track. He responded, “Yeah, those drivers who won’t get out of the left lane. They think because they may be going the speed limit that they know what they are doing, but they don’t.”
A network morning show even devoted time to the irritating practice recently. So, if it seemingly makes everyone so angry, who are the perpetrators?
Tailgating
This persistently practiced peeve has been the catalyst for many incidents of rage, and I don’t really know why it continues with such popularity. Again, if it makes so many drivers angry, who is doing all of it? Evidently, some percentage of drivers tailgate, and the remainder get mad about it.
One thing I believe is true — very few drivers speed up as a result of being “pushed” by an aggressive driver, and some even slow down. If the follower’s wish is to go faster, following overly close seems counterproductive.
Still, the best way to handle a tailgater is to move to the shoulder, and let them pass.
Failure to Use Signals
This is another apparent example of the “laws-don’t-apply-to-me” attitude. This mentality permeates other areas of life, such as dog-walkers in the park who don’t use a leash. An above-the-law attitude will eventually get the perpetrator in trouble, so do your best to ignore them — they’ll be cited or have an accident sooner or later.
Don’t forget to have your vehicle ready for summer heat as well.
Tires take a lot of extra abuse at high temperatures, especially on a long trip — check pressure (when cold) often.
More batteries fail in the heat than in the cold; so, if you’ve used your five-year battery for six years, you aren’t going to make it through the summer. If you don’t know the age of your battery, a repair shop can test its condition.
Coolant eventually loses its optimum ability to cool your engine, and it definitely loses its anti-corrosive properties with age. It should be changed about every three years on the average — this is especially important with aluminum engine components. Make sure all of your coolant-carrying hoses are in good shape, too. Your cooling system is only as good as its weakest link, and a broken hose will stop you hot.
Teens, Check It out
A driving instructor and safety advocate, M.M., just told me of a driving school in which he enrolled his child. The course is unique in that police officers (retired and off-duty) are the instructors. Part of the logic is that police officers have seen firsthand the devastation caused by poor driving.
The school operates on the premise that safety is first, and subscribes to my philosophy that the best safety device you can install in a car is a well-trained driver.
They stress the mechanics of driving, execution of technique, rules of the road, and driver test preparation. The course satisfies the 30-hour class prerequisite for license application. See more at www.911drivingschool.com and www.911drivingschool.com/spokane. There are other excellent driving schools in town that offer the prerequisite for licensing, although 911 seems to be the first to employ police officers as instructors.
As ever, keep a cool head while driving this summer — try to avoid mistakes, and avoid getting irate over the errors of others. Please keep sending me your own driving experiences and opinions — thanks!