Imagine it’s like a zipper
Credit: Daniel Dionne/Flickr.com
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Alright, I feel like this is a rather elementary aspect when it comes to driving, but apparently it’s harder to understand than I initially thought. Each morning I choose to drive to work instead of taking public transit I regret it halfway through the journey. Sometimes it’s because I dislike the car I’m driving — it’s too twitchy in traffic, not comfortable, doesn’t have satellite radio, is boring, etc. — but usually it’s because I get angry in traffic.
And I’ve mentioned my guilty pleasure of traffic, and it’s true; generally, I don’t mind being stuck in slow-moving traffic. As long as there’s no merging lane, or I’m not trying to merge.
Herein lies the problem.
I want all of you drivers to stop for a second and visualize something with me. Put down your coffee, doughnut, sandwich, cat, baby, etc. and take a moment to perform this little exercise with me.
– Take a deep breath.
– Close your eyes.
– Count to 3.
– Open your eyes.
That is the time you save by not letting someone merge in front of you in traffic.
Now take a moment to remember the hour-long drive you had in to work this morning. You riding the car infront of you and braking incessantly to stay inches away from their bumper is the reason there was so much traffic. And your 3-second lead on life is now lost in the endless backlog of cars on the motorway.
It only takes one person to create a chaos of cars. It takes one fool hitting his brakes too hard to create a chain of heavy braking that will, inevitably, lead to cars stopping later on down the line. And what’s it all for? To keep your place in line.
You’re all acting like selfish, self-centered brats out there and I dont’ appreciate. Be considerate and leave some space. Imagine the cars are like a well-greased zipper, gently running together to form a uniform line. Imagine we all left enough space for the merging to enter traffic seemlessly and flawlessly … imagine … imagine. Lennon was on to something there.
It’s rare I ride a bumper to prevent a merging car from entering. There are, of course, exceptions. Should someone try and but into a ridiculously long line at the very end (where I am) instead of heading to the back and waiting I react accordingly. After all, would you let someone butt in front of you at the cafeteria just when you get the counter after waiting 30 minutes for your meal? I think not.
If we all took a moment to work together on the road, imagine how much easier our lives as drivers would be.
Imagine.
Drive on,
– M.
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drivingmsmiranda
Driving MsMiranda's Blog 
Funny that you post this story today. This morning something similar happen to me. I hope I’m going to be able to describe this.
First, I need to take a boulevard to get to the highway. There’s always some drivers who don’t want to wait in line and just cut in front. So this morning someones tries to cut in front of me. So as usual I make sure to make his life harder and close the gap between my car and the one in front.
Right after this incident I’m making my way into the service road where everyone is letting someone from the in-ramp pass. But this morning someone decided that he was not letting me in. “Don’t you have common sense?”
Just another day in traffic.
It’s interesting to see this point of view. I can’t say fore sure if I agree or not, but it is something I will think about now.