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Michaels: Holiday driving trips from a grinch-y commuter

If you drive a truck that requires a ladder to enter, do you really need to drive like a monster?

If you drive a truck that requires a ladder to enter, do you really need to drive like a monster?

±õ²õ²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t the monster status already achieved by the vehicle itself?

Is it even remotely normal behaviour to tailgate someone on a stretch of single lane highway, where there have been multiple head-on collisions during wintry conditions?

Is there a correlation between frontal lobe development and truck height?

Should there be a test for said development before purchase?

These are the questions that plague me at 6 a.m. when I drive my tiny car to work amid a sea of giant trucks driven by people with a tiny amount of knowledge of road etiquette.

±õ³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s crazy out there and the craziest people are the ones who are driving the vehicles that could potentially cause the most harm to ´Ç³Ù³ó±ð°ù²õÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥”t³ó²¹³Ù might be the only part that makes sense, come to think of it. And, no, I don't mean you with the big truck. I mean that other guy who's driving like a maniac. You know the one.

Anyway, given the high number of roll overs and crashes ·É±ðÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™v±ð been seen here as of late, in addition to the unfortunate behaviours witnessed during my commute, ±õÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™v±ð thought of some helpful tips that can get all of us safely to Christmas.

Note: These are not ICBC endorsed tips, though they should be.

3.) You may be able to drive 90 km/hr, but that »å´Ç±ð²õ²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t mean you should. As a matter of fact, road conditions should dictate your speed. If you, yourself, ³¦²¹²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t figure out what that means, simply take note of how much slower every other car on the road is going.

°Õ³ó±ð²âÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™r±ð not doing it just to peeve (not the first word that came to mind) you off, they are probably smarter than you.

2.) Serious anti-social tendencies must be difficult to deal with, but if ³Ù³ó±ð°ù±ðÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s ever a time ¾±³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s needed ¾±³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s when ²â´Ç³ÜÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™r±ð behind the wheel of a car.

Sure, ¾±³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s frustrating for some of you that ²â´Ç³ÜÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™l±ô arrive at a destination three minutes later than you would if other people ·É±ð°ù±ð²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t going the speed limit or »å¾±»å²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t have the audacity to turn left.

But speeding up toward ²õ´Ç³¾±ð´Ç²Ô±ðÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s bumper, revving the engine and fogging up your window with heavy breathing »å´Ç±ð²õ²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t smooth the flow of traffic.

So just »å´Ç²ÔÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™t do it. Think about all those self help books ²â´Ç³ÜÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™v±ð read. ³Û´Ç³ÜÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™r±ð good enough. Smart enough. People like you.

It isn't me, but someone.

1.) Be gentle, yet assertive. ±õ³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s what I tell my four-year-old every time he heads toward a four-legged creature and I think ¾±³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s sound advice for all people driving on four to six wheels. Simply, be gentle. ±õ³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s the time of year when the weather, the pressures that go along with the season and a myriad of other things can be overwhelming. Remember that, and have compassion for people who make mistakes. Road rage is totally at odds with the Christmas spirit, or ·É³ó²¹³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s left of it.

OK, ³Ù³ó²¹³ÙÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s it. Hope these tips get us safely through the holidays. ±õÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™l±ô have a summer tutorial in six months.

 





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