A Veteran’s Call: Drive Safely this New Year’s… and in 2024

by Chris Derson

Dangerous Driving

Driving is something we all do , and need to do, to function in our daily lives. While not all of us are able to drive for a variety of reasons, i.e. no license, license suspensions, and or medical issues, there is no shortage of drivers buzzing around on the highways in this country. Driving is something we know how to do that others don’t. Others being everyone else on the road besides YOU. It is the most common thing I hear when conversing with people. “People don’t know how to drive.” That’s kind of the problem. Nobody actually knows how to drive, we all think we know how to drive and we are quick to complain about other drivers perceived incompetence.

Aggression

Aggressive driving is probably the most common issue with everyone’s driving. It can be outright or passive. People drive to get where they are going, and they are hard hard pressed to allow anyone or anything to slow them down just a fraction of a second. Whether it’s drivers in the left or right lane speeding up and slowing down to avoid being passed, or tailgating someone to take the pole position. Why is everyone so afraid to be passed ? For what reason would someone speed up to dangerously fast speeds to keep another person from passing them. I think people do this because they are too proud to be passed. This creates the dangerous brake check and go game. It doesn’t matter if your going the speed limit and then some, let someone pass who is trying to pass. Most of us are not police, it is not our job to teach lessons on the highway. . These roads belong to all of us, let us share them.

Impatience

Poor time management is another contributing factor to dangerous driving. If you have to be to work at 0800, and it takes 30 minutes to drive to work, and you leave your house at 0730, you have poorly managed your time. People become impatient while driving. This is due to traffic congestion, school buses, and pedestrians. They begin to panic and drive erratically because their late so they start to text co workers / bosses, do their makeup, organize their work belongings. This is a fatal snowball because while your doing all of these things, your not focusing on the road. If you are rushed in the morning you are not properly planning. Be honest with yourself and wake up/ leave at a time that can afford you 5-10 minutes of “slush” time. Things happens and traffic is a guarantee. Compensate for delays by planning for them. Do not build a strict “outlined” time line because your time with surely fall outside of the lines. The less time you have, the more impatient you grow, and the more impatient you are the more aggressive your driving will be. Multiply that by millions of drivers and you have a beehive.

The solution

Plan for delays on your way to work and your return home. Incorporate “slush” time into each movement you conduct by vehicle. Remember that you are driving a metal missile and everyone’s life matters. Share the road and if someone flies up behind you and you are in the left lane, safely change lanes and let them pass. Don’t take it personal and don’t drive distracted. There are too many lives at stake. God bless.

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Chris spent 12 years in the Marine Corps as a grunt and an operator with MARSOC. After getting out he worked as a police officer for a year and a half and is currently employed in the physical security/safety field.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.