Jackson Free Press

I suppose I was a late bloomer by most standards: I started dating at age 16, drinking coffee at 18 and got my driver's license at 19. I wasn't one of those weird, closed-off adolescents with no social awareness. No, no. I was just never in a hurry to do anything, a character trait that still haunts me.

When I began driving at age 16, I thought myself to be better than the average person on the road. I could change lanes on I-55, narrowly missing oncoming cars, and I knew the right-of-way rules like the back of my hand. I only had a permit at the time, so my mom would have to ride with me, all the while clutching her hands together with uneasiness and intermittently interjecting phrases such as "slow down" and "watch that car." Why couldn't she accept that I had a God-given natural affinity for the road?

"Wow. I'm pretty good at this driving thing," I thought to myself.

This all changed when I drove my mother's champagne-colored 2000 Honda Odyssey into the side of our home. This was a bit of a blow to my ego.

Three years later, I got my first car. Two days after that, I got my license.

Despite my sordid past with the streets of Jackson, I still had a large amount of confidence. In the three years that I have been a license-carrying citizen, I have not been involved in a car accident, thank God, nor have I acquired any traffic violations. These accolades, coupled with my genius and intuition for all things of "le road," have made me quite the expert on driving.

In fact, if that whole never-in-a-hurry-to-do-anything factor was not still haunting me, I'd probably write a New York Times best seller and call it "Guide to Driving the Right Way."

I'm pretty sure that the book would open with the age-old tale of the four-way stop. Wrapped in mystery, the four-way stop has been a conundrum for many people. With so many directions and cars, how can one be expected to master it?

When approaching a four-way stop, follow this simple rule. Scan the other three stops and record to memory who was there before you. When the last car in that list has passed through the stop, then it's your turn. Easy enough, right? Apparently not, because people are either too otherwise involved or self-obsessed enough that they think they have the right-of-way as soon as they stop.

Scan. Record. Wait. Go. It's that simple.

Another problem that impedes drivers from navigating the four-way stop properly is lack of confidence, or perhaps it is distrust. In either case, apply this rule when you are the sole driver at the stop: Just go. If a driver arrives at the four-way stop and scans the other three stops, but finds no other cars, then just go. Too many times, drivers see an approaching car and decide to sit and wait for that car to arrive at the stop, then go. No, no, friend. If you're the only one there, go. You're not being polite to the other driver; you're wasting an extra 30 seconds of his or her time. And time, as we know, is indeed a commodity.

A few months ago, my boyfriend and I were cruising down the HOV lane on an Atlanta interstate. A few hundred feet in front of us, we saw traffic slowing down, and he began braking. In moments, traffic was at a standstill. Two hours and a lot of frustration later, traffic began to break up, and we were able to accelerate again. As we picked up speed, we saw the horrifying accident that caused the standstill traffic—on the other side of the interstate.

Turns out, the bright shiny lights illuminating from the fire trucks and police cars on the opposite side of the interstate were an attraction for drivers on our side. Such an attraction, in fact, that people thought it their duty to slow down and see just what was going on over there. So many people rubbernecked to such slow speeds that eventually drivers three and four miles behind them were stuck in standstill traffic—namely me.

Now call me a whiner, but it is one thing for a car wreck to obstruct a couple of lanes, causing cars to bottleneck into fewer lanes. However, it should be a crime to be so nosy that drivers hold up traffic for two hours because they wanted to see what happened on the other side of the interstate. Take this lesson: Move on. Let the officials take care of it.

When you analyze the cause of driver frustration, much of it can be attributed to lack of courtesy or too much of it.

For instance, I know that there is a maximum and minimum speed on the interstate. I also know that there are a few drivers who prefer the minimum. That's cool. Whatever floats your boat, man. However, when drivers exercise that minimum speed in the far left lane, other drivers like myself are presented with a problem. The rule of thumb is to exercise courtesy. If you are going 40 mph in the left lane, and another driver approaches at an obviously faster speed, change lanes to the right. Don't punish us, or try to teach us a lesson because we "don't need to be driving that fast anyway." Courtesy is key.

Not to mention that slow traffic in the left lane presents serious hazards in its own right as cars stack up behind.

Courtesy can also be exercised in excess. I fully support the "pay it forward" method of driving. If a driver lets you squeeze into his or her lane, go ahead and let someone else further down the road do the same. However, when a driver lets droves of cars pull in front of him or her, we've got a problem. When the drivers behind that good Samaritan miss the green light, they will inevitably become sour toward benevolence on the road and all hope of driver courtesy is lost. Rule of thumb: Pay it forward, but don't go overboard.

These tips are not meant to harm, but to help. I'm just trying to make a difference out there. I am on a divine mission to bring truth to the masses, and promote peace on the road. Look for the book to hit the stands somewhere between now and never. These tips will change your life.

Can't wait for the book? Please consult your Mississippi Highway State Patrol-issued driver's manual. It is my guess that a refresher wouldn't hurt.

Previous Comments

ID

75267

Comment

ROTFL!!! I love this! I took my time getting my license, too. I'm not going to say how old I was. Ahem. :-) Now call me a whiner, but it is one thing for a car wreck to obstruct a couple of lanes, causing cars to bottleneck into fewer lanes. However, it should be a crime to be so nosy that drivers hold up traffic for two hours because they wanted to see what happened on the other side of the interstate. Take this lesson: Move on. Let the officials take care of it. Couldn't agree more! The excuse I often hear people give for slowing down to look at a car wreck is, "It might be somebody I know." Yeah, sure.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-01T17:46:08-06:00

ID

75268

Comment

I used to live in Atlanta and rubber-necking happened all the time. People act as if they've never seen an accident before. And you wonder why they seem to have worse traffic problems than Los Angeles.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-09-06T11:18:23-06:00

ID

75269

Comment

Still golden, you have to give it to cities like Atlanta that move 4 million people around its byways a day without total gridlock. Having lived in Atlanta, you know that at times during the evening, and non-rush hour days you can zip around pretty easily. Sure, more days then not you are going to get bogged down at the junctions and downtown; but, over all it really is a marvel. Traffic is really interesting. Even things like the Sun setting during rush hour on I-20 West can cause traffic waves. Appropiate FARK headline from yesterday: Atlanta drivers ponder whether roundabouts are the traffic solution they're looking for. Most Americans ponder what the hell to do when they drive up to one LOL!

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-06T12:30:24-06:00

ID

75270

Comment

I guess I spent too much time in my car while in Atlanta; but, I thought it was cool when you could drive down I-75/85 while seeing a moving train to your right, a MARTA train running above you, planes flying over the city, and helicopters landing on buildings. All at the same time! Transportation rules Atlanta! Of course in my excitement, I slowed down and caused a traffic wave that extended past I-285 to Woodstock and Suwanee respectively. ;-p

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-06T12:37:33-06:00

ID

75271

Comment

Even things like the Sun setting during rush hour on I-20 West can cause traffic waves. Atlanta was the first (and only) city where I ever heard the term "sunshine delays". I think the problem with traffic in Atlanta is that the city grew too fast too quickly in order for the highway system to keep up. Also, for a long time, you had suburban resistance to mass transit. I lived out in Gwinnett County (not too far from Suwanee, BTW) and they had a vote there in the early 90s whether or not to allow MARTA to expand there. The people voted no. I was not living there at the time, but from what I was told from people who did live there, the prevailing attitude to keeping MARTA out were out of prejudice. They didn't want the blacks from Atlanta coming out to Gwinnett and committing crimes. What's going to happen next over there is that since there is so much growth happening in the suburbs, people will start driving out from the city to the suburbs for jobs, so you'll be having traffic problems in both directions during all hours of the day.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-09-06T13:04:57-06:00

ID

75272

Comment

No doubt. I cringed when I heard the slang for MARTA. Actually, you bring up a good point about the burbs there. I would much rather have to drive, and get stuck on one of the major highways over having to go down Ashford-Dunwoody (or Chambley) by the malls or one of the off shoots of GA400, I-85 or I-75. Even Moreland to Briarcliff is bad most hours of the day now that Atlanta proper is booming too. I think it is a good problem though. The folks here who are going to be working, living, shopping, and schooling off Old Agency are about to get a taste of what suburban traffic is like.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-06T13:38:32-06:00

ID

75273

Comment

Oh yeah, they are talking about building a high speed train to Chattanooga so the people in N Metro Atlanta can use the airport there to ease the congestion of Hartsfield Jackson. Unfortunately, they are overlooking the fact that 75% of Hartsfields customers are just changing planes.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-06T13:45:30-06:00

ID

75274

Comment

Oh yeah, they are talking about building a high speed train to Chattanooga so the people in N Metro Atlanta can use the airport there to ease the congestion of Hartsfield Jackson. Unfortunately, they are overlooking the fact that 75% of Hartsfields customers are just changing planes. Wow, I hadn't heard about this! I wonder if any of the airlines that serve Jackson would offer direct flights to Chattanooga- and charge something less than the $500+ that Delta sticks us with for the round trip flight to Atlanta...

Author

Rico

Date

2007-09-06T16:26:53-06:00

ID

75275

Comment

Here is the alt. news take from Chattanooga.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-06T16:55:24-06:00

ID

75276

Comment

Remember back before Jackson became "Soul City"? I'm talking about when we were the "distribution center of the deep south"... The talking point then is that we were in an almost perfect location- halfway between Memphis and New Orleans, and halfway between Atlanta and Dallas. I don't know if anyone actually ever made use of our location, but it seems to me that we would be a great place for a bullet train hub- bet that would wake up downtown!

Author

Rico

Date

2007-09-06T17:26:18-06:00

ID

75277

Comment

Rico, Yeah! IF the Feds would even have a plan on the books for it! Let's not even talk about even dreaming of getting it all funded, up, and running

Author

Philip

Date

2007-09-06T18:03:11-06:00

ID

75278

Comment

Actually, you bring up a good point about the burbs there. I would much rather have to drive, and get stuck on one of the major highways over having to go down Ashford-Dunwoody (or Chambley) by the malls or one of the off shoots of GA400, I-85 or I-75. Even Moreland to Briarcliff is bad most hours of the day now that Atlanta proper is booming too. I think it is a good problem though. I didn't do much driving in the city of Atlanta. I would drive to the MARTA station in Doraville and take the train from there. Very convenient if your travels were to take you to downtown. The folks here who are going to be working, living, shopping, and schooling off Old Agency are about to get a taste of what suburban traffic is like. That roundabout is a traffic accident waiting to happen. In fact, I predict one will happen the day Renaissance opens.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-09-06T20:41:20-06:00