Driving a Car

I passed the driver's test and got my license when I was 21 years old.  I actually almost blew the test, I was nervous and wanted to get it over with quickly as possible.  So, I was heavy on the gas a little, made a few rolling stops at stop signs, and failed to stop at railroad tracks once, but stopped when I went over the tracks again a second time.  Because of my age (probably) and because I'm a guy, he passed me anyway.  He actually made the comment that if I was a girl, he probably wouldn't have passed me.  My mom was right there and didn't want to question him because we didn't want him to change his mind about passing me.

How's my driving?  Pretty good overall.  I never had any accidents.

What about traffic lights?  I know a red light means stop and a green light means go, but what does a yellow light mean?  Does it mean "Speed up and get through the light?" or "Slow down and prepare to stop?"  You'll probably choose the second one.  I hate traffic lights.  Sometimes I go though yellow lights that I should slow down and stop for.  I always get through the light before seeing it turn red or it turns red when I'm already in the intersection.  I've never entered an intersection after the light turns red, well I think I have once or twice a few years ago, but I now make a habit to stop for a red light (even though I may not want to) that I know I'm too far away to make.  And if I'm the first car stopped at a red light and my light turns green, I'm getting into the habit of looking both ways to make sure traffic is stopping like they are suppose to because I don't want to get hit.

When I was driving in the beginning, I was on Paxil.  I had a few dizzy spells while driving and had to pull over.  My mom was with me, so she took over from there.  I think Paxil might have partly contributed to the dizzy spells.  Also, sometimes my dizzy spells are caused by low blood sugar, or so we thought.  Sometimes I feel a little dizzy and my blood sugar is normal (I have a glucose meter).  So, I think it's part of excitement of something, such as going somewhere I never been to before or I also get nervous before taking tests, especially final exams.

I actually stopped driving for more than two years because I was concerned of getting dizzy while driving.  I been off of Paxil since 2005.  I started driving again in October of 2007.  Overall, it was like I never stopped driving.  Like riding a horse, if you fall off, you get back on.  I see driving the same way.  You never forget how to drive a car just like you never forget how to ride a horse.

I actually drive to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), which is about 40 miles away from home (30 miles on the freeway).  When I was driving there in the beginning, my dad or mom would ride with me to make sure my driving is OK.  After they let me start driving there by myself, I thought now I'm free!

How do I like driving on the freeway?  I think driving on the freeway is fun and exciting.  You probably think I'm crazy for saying that.

When driving, I always keep my distance from the car ahead of me, especially on the freeway.  On the freeway, instead of slowing down for slower moving vehicles, if my exit is not coming up soon, I normally get in the left lane and pass.  I always check my blind spot and I'm always looking in my mirrors in general, so if a car was in my blind spot, I would know anyway.  But sometimes cars sneak up on people, so I always look over my left shoulder to make sure.

One key factor in preventing accidents in my opinion has to deal with blind spots.  One rule I always follow: Always check my blind spot and don't drive in other peoples blind spots.  Big trucks has blind spots on the side of the semi.  I never play cat and mouse passing big trucks.  My motto is either speed up and pass or slow down and get back in the right lane.  I always drive in the right lane and only use the left lane for passing.  But not everybody drives like that.  I sometimes get behind a car in the left lane that is not passing anyone or is taking forever to pass someone and my motto is either pass or get over or in other words keep right except to pass.

Also, people should not pass on the right just to gain a couple of cars ahead of traffic in the left lane.  I had that happen one time when I was in the left lane passing trucks.  The car behind me cut off the truck in the right lane that I just passed, passed me and the car ahead of me on the right, then got back in the left lane cutting off the car ahead of me.  There was only three or four car lengths between the trucks in the right lane.  So you can see with my car and the car ahead of me being two car lengths, there was barely enough room to pass on the right with that short space.  Passing on the right is dangerous and can cause accidents.  But sometimes if people are in the left lane and not passing, they can prevent someone by passing on the right by just getting over.  Some people may drive in the left lane on purpose to try to stop people from speeding.  That's a very dangerous game.  Cars behind you will start tailgating and get frustrated, which causes road rage and can lead to accidents.  Road rage can be prevented most of the time in my opinion if drivers won't cause another driver to get mad by driver error (ex. cutting someone off, unsafe lane change, etc.).

Also, if there's someone stopped in the right emergency lane, I always get in the left lane when possible to give them more room.  Just think, how would you feel standing next to the interstate with car trouble or whatever reason and having traffic flying by you at 70 MPH just a few feet away.  People been killed standing next to the interstate.  Cops been killed by being hit by a car at a traffic stop.  In Tennessee and most of the other states, there's a "Move Over Law."  It means to move over a lane (if not possible, slow down) when a emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the interstate or multiple lane highway.  The law only requires moving over for police and other emergency vehicles, but I always move over for anybody stopped in the emergency lane.  I also always move over for cars merging on the interstate.

How comfortable am I driving around big trucks?  At first I was nervous, well I was nervous about driving to MTSU in general and on the interstate in general.  But after a few trips, I got used to the truck traffic and interstate traffic to a point that the trucks don't bother me.  But sometimes if there's a car right behind me tailgating me or following me too closely, that can make me nervous.  I usually get in the right lane when possible to let them pass.

I've had my share of road rage and aggressive driving.  When I was on Paxil, I might have drove more aggressively and had a road rage attitude, but I never did anything crazy.  Right now I don't drive aggressive anymore or have a road rage attitude, but sometimes I get ticked off at another car for cutting me off or pulling out in front of me.  As long as people speed up after pulling out in front of me, then it doesn't usually bother me.  But if someone pulls onto the road going 40 or 45 MPH when I'm doing 60 or so (55 MPH speed limit) or pulls out and stops or slows down to make a turn, that can tick me (or anybody else) off, especially if I don't have a chance to pass.

Sometimes I pull out on the road when it's not 100% clear.  It depends on the distance and speed cars are coming and the level of traffic.  Generally if there's only a few cars coming, I'll let them go by first, but if there's a lot of cars coming and it'll never be 100% clear, then I usually go when there's a gap in traffic.  Sometimes I miss chances to go because a car or cars I decided to wait on is coming slower than I expected and I'm saying to myself "shoot, I had a chance to go."  But that's the way it goes.  Everybody probably has that situation every now and then.

I've made driving mistakes in the past that I'm glad didn't result in an accident.  I've learned from experience and try not to make the same mistakes again.  It's important to have patience while driving and remain clam when faced with a red light or slow moving traffic.