The Ancient Art of Driving

Drivers’ Ten Commandments’
Courtesy of The Vatican (CNN.com)

The “Drivers’ Ten Commandments,” as listed by the document, are:

1. You shall not kill.

2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

7. Support the families of accident victims.

8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

10. Feel responsible toward others.

Your tinny exhaust
Ass-hugging provocation
Signify nothing

Slow driver, left lane
Impediments to progress
Go fast or move right!

A true pimp looks fast even when he’s not moving.

Northern Virginia’s traffic is legendary. Driving around Los Angeles and New York during rush hour is preferable to being stuck on the Washington, D.C. Beltway in Virginia.

Perhaps the reason everyone drives slowly is because of draconian enforcement of the speed limit.

Or perhaps they drive slowly because there are so many incompetent drivers who can’t seem to drive at the optimal speed to keep traffic flowing . All too often, a row of slow moving cars creates “slugs” of traffic that bog down the entire inner loop of the Beltway in Virginia.

Doesn’t this seem ironic? Traffic is caused by incompetent slow drivers. Yet law enforcement can only penalize someone who drives with purpose, who is moving at a pace that helps optimize the flow of traffic.

Perhaps we should ticket people for bad driving, not aggressive driving.

Perhaps we should ticket people for driving so slow, in the fast lane, that their vehicle becomes a hazard to folks around them.

As a friend once pointed out, aggressive drivers are usually responding to incompetent drivers.

Maybe Virginia should consider this when trying to legislate safety on the roads that are already so congested that one can only hope to have an opportunity to exceed the posted speed limit!

78 in a 30.

48 in a 30.

Does anyone really drive 30 miles per hour?

Luckily for me, the law enforcement officers are kind and recognize that one need not have a lead foot to exceed thirty smiles per hour…

When 1st gear in your car can get you to 45 mph, shifting to second is sure to earn a warning from the local constable when traveling in a 30mph zone.