We may not have to drive in the future but for now, drive safe

I started driving cars when I was in high school, and since then, I have been driving in different countries. Thanks to many people who have cautioned me various things, I have been fortunate not to be in a serious accident so far, although I have been in near miss accidents a few times.

What is unfortunate is that some of my friends and acquaintances drive or drove very dangerously, and some of them even lost their lives so, I would like to take some time to share the things that I keep reminding myself when I drive.

0. The big lesson

On one rainy day, I was driving on a busy street with road construction. The traffic was moving slow so most of the cars were rushing to go before everyone else but I made sure I have enough room in front of me to stop, in case of an emergency break. Several cars cut the line but I did not care. I yielded for them. The car behind me was obviously eager to go faster, and it was tailgating me and flashing the headlights at me to close the distance in front of me. I knew he was very frustrated how I was driving. I felt pressured and I was tempted to close the space in front of me but the next instance, I saw several cars in front of me stepped on their breaks.

I only expected the traffic to be slowing down but it turned out to be a complete stop!

I stepped further onto my break pedal but I was getting closer and closer to the car in front of me. I thought I would crash. Fortunately, I was able to stop just a few inches behind the car in front of me.

As soon as I felt the relief, I heard a big crash behind me. It was two cars behind crashed into the car behind me.

I was able to stop in time, and so was the car right behind but that was not the case for two cars behind me.

1. Distance, distance, and distance

When there are no cars, people, or any object on the street, you would not get into an accident, unless if you fall asleep, but in reality, there are all sorts of obstacles on the street. On those chaotic streets, what you can control is very limited. In fact, there is only one thing that you can control – your car. On top of that, the only thing that you can control by controlling your car is the space in front of you.

You cannot control the pedestrians. You cannot control the broken tire on the highway. You cannot control the traffic. You cannot control the driver behind you, who is eager to go faster and getting closer to you.

The good news is that the only thing you can control will drastically decrease the chance of getting you into an accident. Of course, many crazy things happen when you are on the wheels so, it is not the 100% protection. However, I feel that too many people do not take care of the only thing that they can take control of.

It is important to pay attention to your surroundings but remember, the space in front of you is your sacred zone. You must secure it at all time, even when you are tailgated!

***By the way, I have been taught to count the seconds from the moment the car in front of me passes a landmark till I pass the same landmark. If I count to three seconds, then that means I am maintaining the optimal distance. The time it takes for cars to stop is relative to how fast we are driving. If you maintain a 3-second distance, you can likely come to a complete stop in time.

2. Pay extra attention when changing lane or turning

When you are going straight, the only thing that you need to take care of is your sacred zone in front of you but things get complicated when you are not going straight. Many accidents happen when cars are changing lane or when making a turn. Do not forget to do all the due diligence.

3. Look at tires

Sometimes, there are cars cuts in all of a sudden…, or you feel like all of a sudden. Especially when you are driving long distance on a highway, you lose concentration, and your reaction time delays. For me, it had been difficult to detect a large truck coming into my lane when it was dark at night, and when it was raining… Someone told me to watch the wheels of the vehicles. Voila!

It is so much easier to detect vehicles changing lanes when you look the wheels.

4. Driving safely is much more important than showing off techniques

The sole purpose of driving on public streets or highways is nothing else but to get to our destination.

Who cares how closely you can drive behind a car and how fast you can react to a stop. It only bother people… Please read below if you are one of those who enjoy practicing or showing off your driving techniques…

5. Stay cool, and yield

To tell you the truth, I used to get road rages. I was so intense and I easily became short tempered when I was driving. When someone was driving slow on a highway, I tail gated. When someone drove faster than me, I speeded to chase the car. When someone told me directions incorrect, or too late, I yelled and made crazy turns. In traffic jam, I made sure I leave no space for other cars to cut in.

I feel very embarrassed how childish I used to drive… but at the same time, I understand how those childish drivers feel when they are driving crazy, and I also understand how difficult it is to control their emotions. I am not expecting that I can change all the raged drivers in the world but I hope this article can help some drivers… or even one driver…

How I was able to start coping with road rages was a shock remedy… In the company in Missouri, where I started working after graduating from the college, there was this quality manager who loved driving his green mustang. Whenever he left the company, we heard his mustang driving away. He was born and grown up in south part of Chicago, in the ghetto area. He was a big white guy with a strict father, who valued courtesy. Despite the education at home, he grew up doing street fights with the gangs. I remember him telling me one time, in his deep voice, “I recognize the smell in the bathroom. Someone is doing pots in there.” Then, the company-wide drug test was carried out, and a few people has been kicked out.

He was divorced but he was still in love with his ex-wife. One day, he told me with a big smile on his face, telling me that he is getting back with his ex-wife. Then he told me the story of the special rings he prepared… I do not remember the details but he melted the original rings to make a new ones, or something… The tough big boss was a romantic guy. That weekend, he took us to a bar in town, then took us on a drive in his mustang. Because he was speeding so much, we were caught by the police, but some how, he was able to talk out of it. Several weeks later, we attended his wedding, and celebrated the happy re-married couple.

Unfortunately, things went south a few months later.

He had been accused of some ethical issue at work, and he was fired. He found a new job but it was three hours away, in Iowa. He started living in Iowa, and came back to Missouri during weekends. He moved back and forth between the states for a few months, then the horrible accident happened.

He must have been texting his wife while driving. His mustang slipped off into the opposite lane, and crashed into an oncoming car, taking lives of two persons, including himself. The worst part is that on the oncoming car, there was a child also, and he lost his mother because of one person’s careless driving.

Since this accident, I started thinking about what it means by responsible driving. I learned that it is not only the matter of myself. I started thinking it is better to yield than causing an accident and make multiple parties suffer. I started thinking how childish it is to get road rage. I started feeling the sense of accomplishment when I managed to control my rage. Then, I realized one thing. No matter how fast I drive, and try to go in front of all the other cars, I cannot even halve the time it takes to get to the destination.

There are a lot more to pay attention to but above are things that I noticed many people value less. I hope less people get into accidents… but who knows, maybe in a few decades, we become the legend… the generation that survived actually driving cars!!! Until then, drive safely.