Every week of the year, your writer subjects himself to a several-hundred kilometre drive between Sudbury and Toronto, Ontario, to exchange weekly test cars. The long drive takes me through some of Northern Ontario’s great scenery, and lets me accurately gauge real-world highway fuel consumption and ascertain any model’s ability to deliver long-term comfort. Lately though, the drive has also become a cause of tremendous stress.
I’m not alone in realizing that more than ever, idiot drivers are taking over the roads. After a check around with colleagues and friends across the continent, it seems the epidemic is far from localized around Northern and Central Ontario.
Idiot drivers typically endanger their lives and the lives of others, make highways and roadways inefficient, and frustrate other motorists. Worse, even, than the dangerous inefficiency posed by idiot drivers is the fact that most of them don’t even know that they’re idiot drivers.
Of course, proper training on the handling of a motor vehicle and driver etiquette could prevent millions of idiot-related frustrations, though the driver training system in this country seems to lack such an agenda.
As such, your writer would like to dedicate the remainder of this blog to a few pointers intended to help readers avoid becoming one of the idiot drivers the rest of us hate.
·See that train of traffic behind you? That means you’re going too slow. On a highway with a 90 km/h speed limit, there’s no need to delay and inconvenience dozens of other motorists-- no matter how pretty the scenery is. If you think the trees and rocks look nice, pull over carefully and take a few photos. Driving isn’t the time to slow down and examine the scenery.
·That sign that looks like a deformed letter ‘Y’ indicates that a special second lane will soon appear on an undivided highway where faster vehicles can pass slower ones. If you’re going the speed limit and have a lineup of cars behind you, use the rightmost of the two open lanes. Drivers that clog the passing lane and prevent others from getting by are doing all of their fellow motorists a disservice.
·If you’re passing slower traffic, do so, then pull to the right to let others use the lane, too. The passing lane is ONLY intended for passing. If you aren’t passing someone, get the heck out of the lane. Note that the lane is also NOT intended for speeding up and then slowing down once it ends.
·Secure that load! One ratchet-strap or rope is typically insufficient to secure a canoe, kayak or load of lumber in your trailer or truck box. If your lousy tie-down job causes you to lose your load at speed and cause damage or injury to those around you, you deserve to have your license yanked for stupidity.
·Do you have trouble seeing at night in the snow, or in the rain? If so, replace or upgrade your headlight bulbs, aim the headlight housings properly, and invest in a quality set of wiper blades. Doing so isn’t expensive or time consuming, and will make the road a safer place for you and everyone else.
·A vehicle operated by a nervous driver in inclement weather is a disaster waiting to happen for a whole pile of reasons. If improved lights and wipers don’t fix the issue, consider public transportation or travelling in the daytime.
·Those yellow and white lines, whether dashed or solid, indicate the boundaries of lanes within which vehicular traffic flows. Mind them.
·Pass only when it’s safe to do so. Oncoming traffic around that corner or over that hill hardly cares how long you’ve been slowly hanging out behind that Winnebago or transport truck.
·If you can’t see, don’t pass. The accident you cause by breaking this rule will not only kill you and your passengers, but also make you look like a real idiot.
I’m not alone in realizing that more than ever, idiot drivers are taking over the roads. After a check around with colleagues and friends across the continent, it seems the epidemic is far from localized around Northern and Central Ontario.
Idiot drivers typically endanger their lives and the lives of others, make highways and roadways inefficient, and frustrate other motorists. Worse, even, than the dangerous inefficiency posed by idiot drivers is the fact that most of them don’t even know that they’re idiot drivers.
Of course, proper training on the handling of a motor vehicle and driver etiquette could prevent millions of idiot-related frustrations, though the driver training system in this country seems to lack such an agenda.
As such, your writer would like to dedicate the remainder of this blog to a few pointers intended to help readers avoid becoming one of the idiot drivers the rest of us hate.
·See that train of traffic behind you? That means you’re going too slow. On a highway with a 90 km/h speed limit, there’s no need to delay and inconvenience dozens of other motorists-- no matter how pretty the scenery is. If you think the trees and rocks look nice, pull over carefully and take a few photos. Driving isn’t the time to slow down and examine the scenery.
·That sign that looks like a deformed letter ‘Y’ indicates that a special second lane will soon appear on an undivided highway where faster vehicles can pass slower ones. If you’re going the speed limit and have a lineup of cars behind you, use the rightmost of the two open lanes. Drivers that clog the passing lane and prevent others from getting by are doing all of their fellow motorists a disservice.
·If you’re passing slower traffic, do so, then pull to the right to let others use the lane, too. The passing lane is ONLY intended for passing. If you aren’t passing someone, get the heck out of the lane. Note that the lane is also NOT intended for speeding up and then slowing down once it ends.
·Secure that load! One ratchet-strap or rope is typically insufficient to secure a canoe, kayak or load of lumber in your trailer or truck box. If your lousy tie-down job causes you to lose your load at speed and cause damage or injury to those around you, you deserve to have your license yanked for stupidity.
·Do you have trouble seeing at night in the snow, or in the rain? If so, replace or upgrade your headlight bulbs, aim the headlight housings properly, and invest in a quality set of wiper blades. Doing so isn’t expensive or time consuming, and will make the road a safer place for you and everyone else.
·A vehicle operated by a nervous driver in inclement weather is a disaster waiting to happen for a whole pile of reasons. If improved lights and wipers don’t fix the issue, consider public transportation or travelling in the daytime.
·Those yellow and white lines, whether dashed or solid, indicate the boundaries of lanes within which vehicular traffic flows. Mind them.
·Pass only when it’s safe to do so. Oncoming traffic around that corner or over that hill hardly cares how long you’ve been slowly hanging out behind that Winnebago or transport truck.
·If you can’t see, don’t pass. The accident you cause by breaking this rule will not only kill you and your passengers, but also make you look like a real idiot.