RSS Feed
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
From the porch
If I see a pickup truck driven by a youthful male, I automatically say to myself "Uh oh". I bet there are some of you out there ready to write in and complain that I am prejudiced against young men in pickup trucks. I admit there are some young men who drive pickup trucks with skill and courtesy and obey traffic laws. However, I can't help but notice that the majority of teen and 20 something pickup drivers are not subjects for safe driving awards. These drivers get their reputations from driving too fast, tailgating, passing on curves on two-lane roads and being such inept drivers that they can't keep their trucks in their own lanes. The other day I was driving one of the curvy two-lane roads which are common in these mountains. A young kid in a pickup truck passed me on a section of severe curves. I beeped at him to let him know that I recognized he was doing something very dangerous. His response was to give me the old familiar gesture and I don't mean a friendly wave. Someone maneuvering his or her finger in a particular way doesn't hurt me. But it says much about the hand signaler. It shows that he doesn't like anyone to call attention to his shameful act and that he will continue to do as he pleases, even if it means killing or maiming someone. After the kid passed me he passed another car on a blind curve. He got away with it this time, just by luck. However, if he continues to do this, the law of percentages will run out for him and he will kill himself or someone else. It is about the same as playing Russian Roulette. The car in front and I were not going slow. But even if we had been crawling, the kid should have waited for a straightaway to pass. I remember old Roy Rogers, who drove a pickup truck and lived in the very mountainous section of Big Sandy Mush, on the fringe of Buncombe County. This wasn't the famous singing cowboy. The cowboy could ride Trigger (his horse for you younger folks) backward faster than the Big Sandy Mush Roy Rogers drove forward. I never knew a man who drove slower. I could have kept up with him by jogging. A few times when I got behind him, I felt my blood pressure rising. In contrast, I bet old Mr. Rogers' blood pressure and pulse were perfect. Nothing seemed to bother him. But even if I was in a hurry, I wouldn't pass him in a blind curve. People driving sports cars and muscle vehicles also seem to drive dangerously. I realize that you can occasionally find a tooaggressive driver at the wheel of a Pinto - but not very often. Pintos can't keep up with the car in front so tailgating is usually impossible.
So come on young guys with pickup trucks. Isn't there a softer, gentler, calmer side of you? Show that side when you're driving and you will live longer and stay out of jail.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
