Cautious Caravaning

Yesterday, my family went to Lancaster, PA (an hour and a half away) to our annual trip to the Demuth Garden Tour. My in-laws came as well. We were in two cars. For most of the drive up, I was in front with my brother-in-law driving behind me. When we arrived, my father-in-law said to me, "You are a cautious driver." I said I was simply driving the speed limit.

On the way back, we didn't stick together. My brother-in-law shot out ahead of me. We were meeting at a restaurant near our homes. About 10 minutes before we arrived, I told my wife to expect a call on her cell phone any second to let us know that the other car had arrived at the restaurant. The call came...right as we were pulling into the parking lot. For all my "cautious" driving, we still arrived at the restaurant about a minute apart.

Corporate Tailgating

Today, for the last couple of miles of my trip to work, I was tailgated by a van from Butler Mobility. Before he started tailgating me, he was tailgating the person behind me, who was keeping a safe following distance from me. I was hoping I would be able to catch one of those "How's my driving" stickers, but I didn't see one when he finally went by.

Stupid Human Tricks

On my way to work this morning, a pick-up truck pulled up behind me on my longest 30 m.p.h. stretch. He was very close for a couple of blocks, and then, in a no-passing zone, he zipped by me. He must have gotten up to 60 (I suppose he had to in order to get by before the oncoming traffic came). Then, I had to laugh. As soon as he got by me, he had to slow down to stop behind a line of cars stopped at a red light, and I pulled up right behind him. When the light turned green, he turned right, and I went straight. I figure the chance of dying from passing in the no-passing zone must be about 5 percent, which is comparable to the number of seconds (about 5 seconds) he saved by passing me.

Back to the Grind

I was off all last week preparing for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah. I'm back to the grind today and was tailgated most of the way to work by a woman in a gray Toyota SUV.

Good Lesson for your Kid

Last night on my way home, I was driving on the big 30 m.p.h. stretch, and a big black Tahoe was behind me. I could tell it wanted to get by as it kept swerving to the left and right as if looking for an opening. There is no passing on this stretch as it is too narrow and too curvy to see far enough ahead. But there are some spots with wide shoulders, and, sure enough, the Tahoe went by me on the shoulder on the right. This has happened before so I wasn't shocked (although it is still surprising). What did shock me was that there was a kid in the front seat. I was thinking it is one thing to do something stupid and dangerous by yourself and quite another to do it in front of your kid. What a great lesson for the the kid.

I'm in a hurry

The past few days I've noticed that I've been in a hurry when driving. I always seem to be late to where I'm going. The temptation is there for me to drive faster in those occasions (and I can't say that I have never succumbed to the temptation). But this got me thinking. I'm not really sure if driving close to the speed limit under normal circumstances is really much safer. It's got to be a little safer, but I find it hard to believe that it is much safer to go 32 rather than 37 (or even 40) in most of the 30 zones, especially since almost everyone else is doing it.

However, it is clear to me that no matter how fast I go, it is much safer to not be in a hurry. I still plan to continue my close-to-speed-limit driving in normal circumstances, but I have to redouble my efforts to not rush. That might involve leaving earlier or just trying not to worry that I'm a bit late and give in to the fact that once I'm in the car, it will take as long as it takes.

Are you yawning at me?

Today's odd observation: a Buick was tailgating me almost entire way home. Finally, a mile from house, we came to an intersection with, and he pulled up next to me in the right turn lane. As I looked to the right to check for traffic, he was looking at me and yawning with a giant yawn. Was he getting sleepy from driving so slowly? Was he trying to tell me something? Or was he just tired from a long day at work? Whatever it was, it looked very strange.