These Are The Unbreakable Rules Of Driving

This article in Jalopnik Magazine lists 18 ways drivers (and all people in cars) should behave. It’s a car magazine that actually gets it.

Here are the most important ones. Especially numbers 1, 2, and 3.

Now get in your car and behave. Or just get on a bike or walk. 

1. Don’t Hit People With Your Car. You are the driver. Even if you gave Tesla $15,000 for its so-called “Full Self-Driving” software, you are still the driver. Your car weighs thousands of pounds. It’s your responsibility to avoid hitting people with your car. Yes, even if someone jaywalks wearing all black in the middle of a storm late at night. Don’t hit people with your car. If that means driving more slowly, then so be it. If that feels like too much responsibility, maybe you shouldn’t be driving.

2. Road rage.  Other drivers are going to do things that annoy you. They’re going to make mistakes. Sometimes they might even do something reckless or stupid. Go ahead and honk at them, sure, but you’re never going to make the situation any better by escalating from there. Really? You want to fight someone in the middle of traffic? Grow up. Also, this is America, so they might have a gun. Don’t mess with people who might have guns.

3. Chill Out With The Speeding. If you’re on private property, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Want to get drunk and try to jump your dirtbike across the creek without a helmet? That’s dumb, but on private property, no one’s going to stop you. On public roads, though, you have to think about other people. It’s just part of living in a society. It isn’t the end of the world to do 70 mph in a 65 mph zone, but how about we don’t drive 71 in a 35? Deal?

4. Stop It With The Weaving.  Sure, you’re in a hurry, but constantly changing lanes in an attempt to drive faster than traffic rarely saves you much time and could just as easily make you late. Not only do you risk being pulled over by a cop and given a ticket, which takes forever, but you could also cause a crash, which takes forever and can cost a ton of money. This goes double if all you ultimately end up doing is passing a single person in the HOV lane who was just giving the car in front of them a little space.

5. You Probably Deserved That Parking Ticket. There are always going to be exceptions, but let’s be real here. The people who complain the loudest about how unfair it was that they got a parking ticket are usually the people who deserve it the most. Oh, you just popped in for a minute? Would you like to show me on the parking meter where it says the first five minutes are free? No? Because you knew you were risking a ticket when you decided not to pay? OK then. Shut up and pay it.

6. Put Your Damn Phone Down. Compared to other developed countries, the U.S. is a uniquely dangerous place to drive — or not drive if we’re being honest. France, Germany and the UK all have cell phones, too, but Americans appear to be particularly committed to using their phones while driving. It’s illegal because it’s dangerous, and if you really need to check that Facebook message the moment it comes in, just pull over to check it. Let’s be real, though. It can wait.

7. Just Be Sober. If you have to drive, stay sober, and definitely don’t drink while you’re driving. Even if you’re in New Orleans, just don’t. Then again, while drunk driving is a huge problem, high driving has also become a much bigger concern in recent years. And for whatever reason, far too many people seem to think there’s nothing wrong with driving while high. It’s still illegal, makes you a danger to others, and if the cops catch you, that’s your own damn fault.

Onward~

Polli Schildge, Editor