It's about a pet peeve of mine!
I can’t let the atrocious driving that occurs in Auckland (New Zealand
I don’t consider it a rant as my opinion for what it’s worth, has been carefully built up over quite a period of time by what I consider to be very astute observations and lots experience on our roads, both city & countryside.
I’m also looking at it through the eyes of both a motorbike rider and a car driver but the same observations count regardless of what you drive/ride. Having said that, as a motorbike rider you do seem to develop a bit of ‘sixth sense’ when riding amongst cars. I think you have to, just to stay alive.
I should say also that I don’t set myself up to be perfect or an expert by any stretch of the term but would say that I have been a victim of many senseless and unnecessary driver actions. I am known as ‘Captain Slow’ with my bike riding friends, a nick name I hope is actually born of affection not malice, but it does give you some idea of my somewhat chilled riding & driving style. This doesn’t mean to say that I am one of those slow, inconsiderate driver/riders that are the cause of a lot of a lot of angst on the road either too by the way, just that I have always enjoyed the journey, not the length of time that it takes me to get there. I do a rather unusual thing and stay within the assigned speed limits or at worst with the main flow of traffic so I don’t classify myself as a nuisance on the road.
I think that many of the worst examples of bad drivers on the road would be on their daily commute. Day in and day out on badly designed and congested roads make it hard to get excited about the trip – you just want to get there. But surely you can make it as pleasant or as enjoyable as you can! You don’t have to turn into a monster behind the wheel and make everyone else’s daily commute as miserable as yours, do you? Just deal with it, don’t leave home so late you are in a perpetual state of frustration and anger to get there, blaming everyone else for your lateness. Get a nice cup of coffee and listen to some nice music, not the amped up angry music that only adds to your already bad driving!
What is it that turns what are mostly I’m sure, normally nice people in raving maniacs as some as they get behind the wheel of a car? Is it the anonymity of being cocooned in a shell where you can become effectively whoever you want to and use this anonymity to hide behind?
Some people are just so aggressive, (and it does seem to be worse with certain types of cars, dare I say European or even utes? Observations would point out Audi drivers to be among the worst! Something about driving this particular brand of car seems to bring out the worst in people? More investigations are pending on this somewhat flawed theory!
These angry impatient drivers must be so wound up and so uptight by the time they get to work you have to wonder how much of their day is going to be in the same vein? How much of their bad driving and anger do they then dump on their fellow workmates or dump on their staff, or just take it out on other poor unsuspecting souls like the local barista or parking warden, (these guys are just doing their job, do you think they would do it if they had a choice?).
I understand frustration in traffic and the daily commute, even though my own commute is only 8kms and in light traffic, but why does it have to affect our psyche as a city of such diverse people. How different would our city be if there were no driving woes or parking woes or people just being polite and considerate? I think we’d be a different city entirely.
In a nutshell, we are appalling drivers. We are on any given day, arrogant, rude, thoughtless and worst of all selfish. Are we born like this or do we become like this as the toll of growing up with all of its responsibilities takes over? I don’t know the answer, I’m asking you!
My lovely long suffering wife who has to put up with all my theories & observances very patiently observed that surely it doesn’t happen all the time? There must be some down time or a calm patch? Sadly it does happen with regular monotony. There would rarely by a day or a commute goes by where I (and I suspect you), don’t see at least one example of bad driving go by, usually more. You don’t have to look far.
Daily I see red light crashes, lane changers without indicating, horns being used to berate some poor motorist who isn’t moving fast enough or merely following the speed limits. Drivers who just couldn’t care less, (you can often tell these by the dents and missing paint on their vehicles and the gay abandon with which they navigate their vehicles through tightly packed roads and car parks with not an indicator to be seen). Audi’s despite their expense don’t seem to even have indicators? Perhaps an optional extra?
The examples go on, tail gaiters are shocking & prolific. Texters, lip-stick appliers, breakfast eaters, (yes that’s right), coffee drinkers, (nothing against coffee drinkers Willie), smokers, radio station & CD changers, cell phone talkers, the list goes on. This last bunch of ignoramus is appalling in their arrogance. Blatantly driving along with their cell phone up to their ears and in their own world, often so involved in conversation they are oblivious to their surrounding fellow drivers. They would argue that they can deal with both driving & constructing a decent conversation, but one has to suffer. Which would you rather it be? They just don’t care about anyone else, “It’s all about me Jack and you can get just put up with it”. They just take the fine on the chin if they are unlucky enough to get caught, and put it down to a cost of doing business. I often wonder just what type of call is so important. How did they get on a few years ago before mobile phones became the epidemic that they are? I don’t think the planet stopped revolving!
If they are unlucky enough to be caught by the men in blue. Sure as the sun rises if I was to try this I would be pinged on the first time. Which raises the question, where are all the Police cars? They are so scarce on the roads these awful drivers are allowed to get away with pretty well whatever they want. No wonder all the good citizens who actually do remember their Road Code get so frustrated. The only time they seem to show up is when there is an accident and there’s no guarantee that won’t take up to an hour to get to!
I shouldn’t be so hard on them, by and large I think they do a good job. It can’t be easy trying to be everywhere. There just isn’t enough of them.
I might add that speed and aggression is no longer the domain of the middle aged men company car driving specimen either. The prolific rise of the aggressive young female drivers is very noticeably on the rise. They are giving the young men a run for their money! They push their little European and high powered Japanese cars along the freeways weaving in and out to get the jump on the slow cars in front of them, often only ending up one car length in front of where they were! I wonder if they notice that? Perhaps they are prepared to take the ‘swings & roundabouts’ to this method of driving?
Hhmmm, I’ve just reflected on what I’ve written and extend to you my humblest apologies. It has indeed turned into a rant despite my stating that it wasn’t going to be so. I’ll call it quits now but I have so much more to share! I’ll have to go that at a later date, sorry in advance.
