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Ever get that feeling that you've been on the road too long? I'm not referring to a road trip. Those are a good time because there's always a destination and as the distance is covered, you keep going faster because you're getting closer. Just think of the words "Road Trip" as spoken by John Belushi in Animal House and you get an idea of the excitement that can be generated. I have been on some memorable road trips, some that I can talk about and some that I can't. I was in a bar in DC once and decided to drive to Syracuse, with three friends, for breakfast in a $40 1953 Sunbeam Talbot (that's not a toaster), in the dead of winter. Bet a guy that I could finish the Tri-State Rally with a friend in January in a $100 Opel Kadette. That was a 1000 mile run over 24 hours through the back woods of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. We made it and won $100 and thereby got the car for free. I left DC on a Sat morning in a new Mustang followed by my brother in a Mini (an original, the one with 10" wheels), dropped the Ford off in Tallahassee, FL, drove back through the speed traps of Georgia and still made it to class on Monday morning. Oh, by the way, there was no Interstate Highway system at the time. The ride was exciting but trying to sleep in the back of the Mini was tough. Especially when the police sirens kept waking me up (see speed traps above). No, we didn't have an AAA card or a cell phone. I once did a Maryland to Miami (not Ohio) run for a three day weekend in a VW beetle. The Vdub averaged 68 mph, not bad for a car with a top speed of 72 mph. I can't remember the girl's name. The shorter road trips aren't any less memorable but there were so many that they just all seem to blend together. Was that run to St Johnsbury from Boston at midnight in the Ford Galaxie wagon or the VW squareback? Was it with a case of St Paulie Girl or gallon of Gallo Hearty Burgundy in the front seat? I just can't remember. Road trips are still a draw, when the Hershey Swap meet comes up I'm up for a midnight ride. Go see a car in a barn in Springfield? Just let me gas up and I'll be there. I never thought I'd say that I was getting bored with driving but the day to day, back and forth to work trek is really starting to get to me. And this from a guy who drives to the train station for the work commute, how tough can that be? I'm really not affected by the tunnels falling panels or Big Dig water leaks. These days there is always a car ahead that's driving under the posted limit or the lights all seem to go against you. You just can't seem to get to fourth gear because there's never an open space. It's no wonder that modern cars come with Bose, iPod plugs, DVD screens and NAV systems. You need all that stuff just to divert you attention from the fact that you're not getting anywhere. When Death Cab for Cutie says "Drive well, Sleep Carefully" It takes on a whole new meaning. Maybe it's the road construction that's fouling up the works. There are road crews during the week and pylon covered potholes on the weekends that seem to turn every roadway into an obstacle course. I try to drive around those manhole covers that stick up before repaving because I'm never sure that the lowered cars I drive will clear them. I still find myself holding my breath listening for that fatal clunk that never comes. It's really the behavior of the other drivers that make me crazy. Now I know I'm getting old. Lights change and people don't go. What are they doing in there? If you're sitting a couple a hundred yards back from the light when it changes, you'll see that the oncoming traffic will start up, reach a reasonable speed and pass you before the driver five cars ahead lets off the brake. The car passing on your left is doing 30 mph and you haven't started to move yet. Are we going to go folks? It's not a matter of being in a hurry, it's just that I'm paying attention and I think everyone else should also. But I know they're not. These many years on the road have taught me a few things about other drivers. When I found other cars tailgating me in traffic I always thought that they wanted me to go faster. Now I know that is not true. A lot of drivers just drive around following other people’s bumper. They're not in a hurry; they don't want you to speed up. They just want to follow you. They know that they're too close for other drivers to cut in on them and if they just keep their eyes on your brake lights they don't have to look around at anything else. Now they're free to talk on the phone, read the paper, eat breakfast, shave, do their nails, etc. Take a look in the mirror next time a car is following too close. They're not clutching the steering wheel, nor staring at you, and they have no intent to go faster. They're back there attending to something most of us would do while parked. Modern brakes have shortened distances needed to stop and the old rule of one car length for every ten mph no longed applies, at least not to them. Of course the national figures for rear end collusions continue to show that drivers follow too close. The figures from 2004 (the last year reported) show that of the 2.58 million crashes, 40% were rear-enders. That's over a million accidents that wouldn't have happened if people left more space between themselves and the car ahead. Think about it for a minute, no matter what the Bozo ahead of you does, you won't have an accident if you are far enough back. He stops suddenly, so what, you have plenty of time to slow down. Another Bozo in front of the guy ahead of you cuts him off and he crashes, no problem, still plenty of time to drive around them because you have space to do it. The other thing that I've noticed is that when traffic is really crawling, or just doing 35 in a 35 zone (how frustrating) it seems to be less stressful if you don't follow the car ahead too close. It has nothing to do with safety or accident avoidance; it's just a trick to reduce stress. There's something about the space between cars that is relaxing. Besides you're not going anywhere anyway. Try it you'll like it. Enough with the ranting about other drivers, I'm going to take the Speedster out for a spin and be part of the problem. KTF |
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