One might tailgate a granny
1/23/25
One might press the gas pedal harder than they should, or maybe accelerate into a corner, or tailgate a granny, or switch lanes without turn signals, or pass on the right; all the while they may fiddle with the radio, or look down at their map, or maybe get so lost in conversation they decide to enter a roundabout without bothering to yield.
In India, I once saw someone getting a haircut on the freeway.
No joke, eight lanes of automobiles, scooters, and cycle-rickshaws, not to mention cows and other animals wandering freely, we passed an open flatbed, on which sat a barber's chair, and a gent going to work on a swarthy, furry fellow; shaving cream, scissors, a comb, the whole nine yards.
There's a good question at play, whether one should err on defense, or side with the offense.
Clearly you will say the answer is straight from the rulebooks: defensive driving is the way to go and, well I can't argue with you there - or, hmm, so, yeah, really...I guess I shouldn't.
But I will because if you're too defensive, you confuse expectations and actually create more risk.
You. Yes, you.
Why exactly are you driving 45 on the highway, which causes everyone else to swerve from one lane to the next, leading to a wave of drivers thrashing all over the road? Drive at the speed limit, lady, c'mon you're not doing anyone any favors here.
I recently ran into a stranger (who is now an acquaintance, I suppose), who bestowed on me her strategy for darkened backroads.
She drives so slowly that other drivers are forced to arrive behind her, and the addition of their headlights plus hers, well, they make the road infinitely 'more seeable.' So, she crawls along, and then breathes a sigh of relief when you, my dear friend, you have to drive up behind her and wonder what in holy hell and god's name she's doing driving so ridiculously slow. Little do you know, she's comforted, while your top is practically blowing off.
Nowadays cars drive too fast.
Not people mind you, it's obviously the manufacturer's fault. Electric vehicles are the absolute worst, because they don't have to lug around one of those terrible gas engines, and their lightness of being means they can zip and zap to and fro, almost weightless, and before you know it they're cranking you to 95 or 100 MPH, and all the while you aren't sure whether you're driving the car or it's driving you.
Here's one thing you should never do: brake check. I did this once, possibly twice, and I swear an oath (places hand on The Book of Torque) I won't do it again. Last time was on route 93 in Boston, lots of traffic.
The f^cker was in a contractor's truck, a musty gray Ford Ranger, and he was tailgating me at a solid 60 MPH, so I tap tap tapped for like one second and holy canoli, you could literally see every object in his cab smash up against the window (including the donuts from Dunkies, no doubt).
Was I ashamed, yeah I was.
My wife literally considered divorcing me right then and there, and I stammered it was no big deal, but here comes this guy speeding up now on my right. I act innocent, he's passing me, and out of the corner of my eye I can see him cursing and spitting and fuming; he pulls in in front of me and WHAP, just like that, he brake taps, but I mean, he wanted to actually kill me, so you can imagine how this all went down.
When he got of the highway about 10 minutes later, I was still sweating, and so we mutually gave each other the finger, which in Boston means we're friends and we respect each other now and I'll likely see you Saturday at the Bruins game.
In summary, let's be sure that autonomous driving vehicles come with all sorts of settings you can jimmy jammy from your phone. I, for one, will be sure to activate "New York Taxi" - or better yet, the "Nürburgring Loop", a setting that attempts to navigate any given route as if it were a high-speed racetrack (both require the checking of a box that says you waive all rights - and also may be an asshole).
Because if you paid a pretty penny to be strapped in the back seat, at least you might as well feel like you're stuck in a video game.