The perils of driving

For some reason I had this stereo-typed image of what kind of car was driven by a certain group. I thought that farmers, Republicans, and Protestants drove Chevrolets while city folk, Democrats, and Catholics drove Fords. I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we lived on a farm and were Republican, Protestant and had a Chevrolet.

Driving was much more dangerous years ago. Almost all of the roads were narrow 2 lane highways with no shoulder to pull off on in case of an emergency. There were many fatal accidents in the Minonk area, especially at the intersection of Route 116 coming from Flanagan and Route 51. Years ago, there was a hump in the road on Route 116 as you approached Route 51 from the east which made the stop sign at Route 51 hard to see.

The worst accident that I remember was on Route 116 east of Benson where 2 cars carrying 11 people collided and all 11 people were killed, including a family of 6 from Minonk. That accident had the infamous distinction of being the worst 2 car crash in the country at that time.

My first big trip in a car was in 1962 when I drove a 1953 Plymouth to California. That was in the days before air conditioning and most people drove with the windows down during the summer. I can't imagine driving to California today with the windows down all the way. In those days most persons left arms were darker than the right one because when driving we would usually lay our left arm on the car's window ledge exposing it to the sun.

In another incident in Frankfurt, Germany a driver was waiting for a street car to pass while the driver behind him kept honking at him to drive ahead. The front driver became irritated and got out of his car and pulledl the driver out from the car behind him and proceeded to knock him out with one punch! I had a lucky break in the French Riveria when my brakes went out on my VW just as I was entering a village and I was able to coast into a VW repair shop and stopped by putting the transmission into reverse.

While driving in the States is not as hectic as in Europe, there are parts of the country which have peculiar driving habits. The most irritating for me was in Worcester, Massachussetts where cars wanting to take a left turn would jump a green light before the ongoing traffic started forward. Then you had to wait as a whole string of cars would continue to take a left turn in front you and you couldn't go ahead until the last car took its left turn.

In Texas the 2 lane highways are usually fairly wide. When you want to pass, the vehicle in front of you would pull over more to the right to let you through so that you can then proceed to pass the vehicle even though there is oncoming traffic.

Everyone has had their share of near misses in accidents. Many years ago I got into my car one morning and noticed that the chrome strip on the driver's side had been ripped off. Then I realized that the night before I had trouble staying awake while driving and had evidently strayed too far to the middle of the road and must have been sideswiped by an oncoming vehicle.

Over the years driving has become safer because there are more interstate highways and automobiles are built better having safety features such as air bags and seat belts. In addition, there are fewer drunks on the road. However, we also drive much faster now than before and have other bad driving habits such as talking on cell phones.

When we are young, we feel invincible. Any adult will tell you that they are glad to have survived their youth without having an accident. A few close encounters with a potential accident will eventually make a driver become more wary. Unfortunately, for a few young drivers that first encounter may be a deadly one. Take it from a survivor, you can never be careful enough while driving a car. One careless moment could mean your life.