What do they teach in Drivers’ Training?

In the last 20+ years I have driven well over 500,000 miles. In fact the two cars we currently own have over 450,000 miles together. I have driven the vast majority of them. They were company cars that we purchased from my previous employer after I had driven them for three years each. It was not unusual for me to drive 40,000 miles a year for business.

I tell you that to let you know I have spent a lot of time on the road with other drivers and have come to realize that drivers’ etiquette is either not taught in Drivers’ Training or some people have forgotten what was taught. Here are a few items on my “most annoying” list.

Turn signals-
Are students taught what turn signals are for? Are they not placed on your vehicle to allow you to share your intent with other drivers? I believe that is their purpose. If it is true why do some drivers wait to turn on their signal until they are starting their turn? At that point I can see they are turning. Then you have the driver that can see you waiting at a stop sign for them to pass but they turn instead without even signaling the turn. Another irritation is the driver that turns on their turn signal to change lanes on the highway and then 30 seconds later forgets it is on and continues to drive for miles with it on. Do these people have any consciousness of others? Or is the world really “just about them”?

Four-Way Stops-
How hard is it to take turns? We are taught that at two or three years of age. Some people who seem to be able to handle the concept of taking turns at the grocery store or waiting in line to buy a movie ticket seem to go brain-dead when they have to count to four at a four-way stop. Isn’t it as simple as paying attention to who got there before you and then you go when it is your turn? Maybe the “paying attention” part is too complicated.

Trying to let another car out of a driveway to cross in front of multiple lanes of traffic-
Probably the most irritating to me and just plain scary are people who hold up their lane of traffic on a four lane road trying to let you out of a driveway and expecting you to cross multiple lanes of traffic when you cannot see if there is oncoming traffic in the other lanes. Then they act like you are an idiot because you just set there instead of risking your life. They are not only setting up a potential accident, but they are also holding up a line of traffic that has the right-of-way. What are they thinking? Or maybe thinking is the issue.

Putting on make-up or reading a paper on the highway-
You might not believe it, but I have witnessed both. Talk about distracted driving! What are they thinking? Over time I have seen the same people doing it day after day on the highway. I wish there was a way to turn them in. Maybe a type of 911 call to report dangerous drivers.

I remember a comedian talking about wishing he had a gun that shot “stupid stickers”. The idea was if you saw a driver doing something stupid you could shot them with a “stupid sticker”. When a police officer saw a car with a certain number of “stupid stickers” they would give the driver a “stupid” ticket. Not a bad idea.

To me it just boils down to the Golden Rule. Why can’t we just all treat each other the way we would want to be treated? Why is common sense so uncommon? Why is it so hard to realize the goal is for all drivers to reach their destination safely and as quickly as they can? If we would see traffic as an “everybody thing” and not a “me thing” maybe we would all get there safely and on time.