Ever see a fellow driver who appears totally zoned out? Like, they're following every law of traffic... but they don't show any sort of awareness of what other drivers are doing. Sometimes they even (to much annoyance) are driving in the left hand lane on a highway at the exact same (legal) speed as the car next to them. Which generally causes a blockage, as cars behind them aren't able to pass.
They technically are correct. They're going the speed limit, they use turn signals, they stop when the stoplight is red and go when the light turns green. And so on, and so forth. But the lack of awareness is disturbing, because they probably aren't going to react in time if someone else screws up. They won't wait that extra second when the light changes, because they don't notice that another car isn't slowing down to stop.
Traffic rules are there for our safety, but they aren't enough to compensate for being an alert and aware driver (especially come winter, when the roads are slippery. Pausing that extra second or two can help prevent accidents if another car starts sliding through an intersection, for example.)
In almost the exact opposite fashion, there are people who seem to believe traffic rules are optional. And, I suppose, if you're alert and aware enough you may even get away with it. That's one of the things that made deploying seem a bit wilder and crazier, in a sense. It's not just the crazy driving our own soldiers had to do in order to stay safe. I recall seeing drivers - was it Kuwait? I think it was in Kuwait - driving the wrong way up a traffic ramp.
Of course, when you choose to disobey the commonly accepted standard you are taking a risk. Risks you can mitigate, of course, but risk nonetheless.
Once you realize that traffic rules are made for you, and that you aren't required to blindly obey them...
Well, responsible people will probably still follow the rules most of the time, because they know the rules were designed for everyone's safety. And if they occasionally don't, it's generally done for a reason (maybe the lights stopped working) and they take every precaution to make sure that nobody's endangered by their actions.
And then there's the people who decide to ignore most of the rules, zipping through lights, rapidly changing lanes to get through congested areas quickly... and completely unconcerned with whatever accidents they may cause along the way. Especially if they're not the ones who get hit. (After all, the other drivers should be paying better attention.)
This is, of course, a metaphor. But I've gotta get going, so I'll elaborate on it some other time.
They technically are correct. They're going the speed limit, they use turn signals, they stop when the stoplight is red and go when the light turns green. And so on, and so forth. But the lack of awareness is disturbing, because they probably aren't going to react in time if someone else screws up. They won't wait that extra second when the light changes, because they don't notice that another car isn't slowing down to stop.
Traffic rules are there for our safety, but they aren't enough to compensate for being an alert and aware driver (especially come winter, when the roads are slippery. Pausing that extra second or two can help prevent accidents if another car starts sliding through an intersection, for example.)
In almost the exact opposite fashion, there are people who seem to believe traffic rules are optional. And, I suppose, if you're alert and aware enough you may even get away with it. That's one of the things that made deploying seem a bit wilder and crazier, in a sense. It's not just the crazy driving our own soldiers had to do in order to stay safe. I recall seeing drivers - was it Kuwait? I think it was in Kuwait - driving the wrong way up a traffic ramp.
Of course, when you choose to disobey the commonly accepted standard you are taking a risk. Risks you can mitigate, of course, but risk nonetheless.
Once you realize that traffic rules are made for you, and that you aren't required to blindly obey them...
Well, responsible people will probably still follow the rules most of the time, because they know the rules were designed for everyone's safety. And if they occasionally don't, it's generally done for a reason (maybe the lights stopped working) and they take every precaution to make sure that nobody's endangered by their actions.
And then there's the people who decide to ignore most of the rules, zipping through lights, rapidly changing lanes to get through congested areas quickly... and completely unconcerned with whatever accidents they may cause along the way. Especially if they're not the ones who get hit. (After all, the other drivers should be paying better attention.)
This is, of course, a metaphor. But I've gotta get going, so I'll elaborate on it some other time.
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