TexasCHLforum.com

I live in Houston and can admit to being "flustered" by other drivers. When you stop to think about it, and put a face on the problem it becomes apparent pretty quickly. Most, well maybe I'm using that a little too liberally, but MOST people I see on the roads doing stupid things are FIRST GENERATION drivers. This has nothing to do with age, but more so the fact that millions of our fellow motorists in this fair city have only previously ridden donkeys back and forth to market. Now they find themselves across the river, and cousin Juan has loaned them a 4,000 lb. automobile. There they go with no insurance, no license, no inspection stickers, no registration, no prior experience, no brakes, and no chance in hell that they will be able to navigate the streets safely. Because they did not grow up in an environment where their mother, father, aunts, uncles, and older nieces, nephews, & cousins grew up driving, they don't have that skill or knowledge passed on to them. How can you "teach" someone something when you can't do it yourself, & have no practical first hand experience? You can't.

Now instead of getting upset, I make it a personal goal to get to my destination without having any interaction with other drivers. That means give them their space. Stay WAY FAR back. I realize that trained monkeys could drive better than most here and that's how I visualize them sitting behind the wheel. You've seen those movies where they use chimpanzees and make their lips move while someone else does the voice over? Yea, just imagine those same monkeys behind the wheel and you will start driving a lot safer. And this applies to ALL drivers! I'm not just singling out any one nationality because if there is one thing that we are all equal at-it's lack of good driving habits & skills.

If you ever watch police approach an intersection you notice that they are trained to hang back away from the intersection. They were taught that most accidents happen at intersections and so they approach them cautiously. Me too.

The bottom line is, it is only going to get worse. Getting upset, or experiencing rage because of it just does not help the situation. Now this is what I want everyone to do tomorrow; Take your favorite rechargeable razor, grab the newspaper, and fresh cup of coffee, and your MP3 player. Saddle up with all of your gear, hit the streets, set the cruise control while you read the paper, enjoy your coffee & tunes. Use the steering wheel to support your newspaper. You can't beat 'em-so join them! Oh, I almost forgot the most important part-increase your insurance coverage! Be sure to specify "Non-Insured motorist" coverage as having that is like having a winning lottery ticket in your pocket that WILL be cashed very shortly.