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Rushed Drivers

Why are drivers always in such a big darned hurry? Apparently, impatience leads to rudeness. I remember when attempting to pass someone in the left lane, you would flash your headlights at them. This used to mean “I would like to pass you, please, would you mind moving over to the right lane so that I may do so.” And now when you flash your headlights to pass, it apparently means “Get the heck out of my way.” When did we become such rushed drivers? I’m not saying that I am exempt. I find myself being impatient as well. And I can only speak for myself, but the reason that I am always in such a big darned rush is because I don’t manage my time well. But can that be true for the masses? If I were my adult self, speaking to my inner child, I would say that I should plan to leave earlier so I can relax and not get stressed out while driving to work. There are, of course, other factors that lend to one’s tardiness, such as road construction, traffic, accidents, weather and other unseen events. Listening to the radio for the latest traffic reports sounds ideal but music is much more soothing to the savage beast, eh? And, this is just a passing thought, but I bet there are a lot less impatient speeders and Colorado, Oregon, California and Washington. Police are likely writing zero speeding tickets and responding to less road rage incidents. Now, in those states police are probably writing more tickets for driving too slow or sitting at a stop sign, waiting for it to turn green.
And what are we teaching our kids who are lead by our example? Kids are like little sponges that absorb everything they see and hear. Again, I am not exempt. I will admit, my daughter’s first word was a bad word that she learned while riding in the car with me. I have always prided myself in doing clean comedy. I rarely swear and when I do it’s usually quite mild. So, I was quick to blame my younger sister. I asked her to watch her language around my kid because she’s picking up bad words. It escalated to my tiny toddler swearing in public places. We were in the grocery store, passed a man in an aisle and she called him a bad word. I apologized profusely and he said “That’s okay, lady. I’ve been called worse. But not by a baby.” She eventually stopped saying the word and life was peaceful again. One day, I was driving, she was asleep in her car seat and another car cut us off. Out of my mouth came that exact word. Good thing she was asleep and didn’t hear. But it was then that I realized it was me all along that she was mimicking, not my sister. I never told my sister, though. Although we all like to believe that we are basically good, kind hearted human beings, our alter-ego emerges when driving. This is especially true of rushed drivers.
So take a deep breath, buckle up and be kind out there. You’re not going to arrive any faster by being a jerk. Less stress is good for your heart and soul. And remember, there are little sponges out there learning how to treat others by our examples (good or bad).

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Rushed Drivers – Comedy Defensive Driving

Daun Thompson: Daun Thompson has spent years acting in both film and theatre which has been paramount in launching her onto the comedy stage (incidentally, without a helmet, resulting in a nasty concussion). Being a funny girl is a full time job. A job that she hopes that one day will come with dental benefits and a 401K. Unlike her work, she is biodegradable, yet flame retardant. And gentle to the touch. Her goal in life??? For strangers to approach her and ask "Didn't you used to be somebody?" In the late 1980's she cut her teeth at the Velveeta Room on 6th Street in Austin, Texas ... the original room with the stripper pole. From there, she moved to northern California and worked with many comedy icons, like Mitch Hedberg, Marc Maron, Colin Quinn, Vic Dunlop, Huck Flyn, Michael Mancini, Doug Ferrari, Shang and Brian Posehn. Daun has been a licensed driver safety instructor and trainer with Comedy Defensive Driving for over 9 years. Her knowledge of driving safety laws keeps her readers informed and engaged with her blog adventures. She still continues to do stand-up comedy, sometimes in a reclining position...just to be different.