Texas offers some great historical sites. We visited The Alamo, President Johnson’s birthplace and the Ranch where he is laid to rest. I even listened to telephone recordings between President Johnson and his top political advisors. Fascinating! It was just like being on the phone with him as he discussed the Viet Nam War, Bobby Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement.
Also not to be missed is San Antonio’s River Walk. This is especially true at night when it is magically lit up. There are riverside restaurants and slow boat rides that make it a memorable site to see. But, I digress. The purpose of this article is the lesson we can all learn about how to handle “road rage.”
During our driving along central Texas highways, me at the wheel, I discovered the solution to road rage. It was something I had never thought of, something I had never experienced.
We were traveling down a two-lane highway, going to church, when I came upon a vehicle traveling the speed limit. Well, I like to go a “little over”, you know? This was a no-passing zone too! Not a good thing for those of us who like to get where we want to go as quickly as possible.
Well, the driver in front of me pulled over on the berm and let me by. As I went by he waved at me. I did not give it much thought except I was glad to be able to continue rolling down the highway. Then, another mile or so, I came upon a pickup truck. This guy had the proverbial rifles in the back window so I reasoned that caution was advised. Again, this guy was doing the speed limit. And, to my utter disbelief, he pulled over to let me by.
I expressed my amazement out loud and one of our Texas relatives said – “This is driver-friendly Texas, Jim.”
Huh? “What are you talking about?” I wanted to know.
Apparently, in some parts of Texas, drivers do this courtesy regularly as a way to reduce road rage incidents and, apparently, it has done just that.
A few minutes later a vehicle came up on my rear, obviously in a big hurry, so I pulled onto the berm and he went by with a toot of his horn to thank me. Cool! This happened several times along our route and it was a fun game to play. Sometimes they yielded and sometimes I did.
When we got back home, I decided to try to be driver-friendly. Now, we live in the Northeast U.S.A. where road rage is a major problem. I witness it nearly every day. In fact, where we live there have been two shooting incidents in the past year over road rage. Do you understand why I was particularly cautious about the Texan with guns in his back window?
I must admit, driver-friendly has not worked well here in Northwest Pennsylvania. I am doing all the yielding. No one has yet yielded to me. This does have a positive effect, however. I feel good about myself and I no longer get aggravated by tailgater’s. I simply let them go by and proceed safely to my destination. More important is: No one is shooting at me!
Maybe we should start a movement. We can call it: “Driver Friendly U.S.A.” It could only take a few of us to start passing it on. Who knows where it could lead?
Jim DeSantis is a former TV News Anchor and Editor. For more interesting observations about Society, including Poltical Commentary, visit Jim’s blog: On Line Tribune Front Page. Or, click here => http://on-line-tribune-front-page.blogspot.com
Article Source: How To Stop Road Rage. What I Learned In Driver Friendly Texas!
