Ironically, Jim was riding

his motorcycle home from work one evening this week, and was within view

of his home when he was unexpectedly hit from behind by a motorist in

a hurry. His back was broken, but that might have been from his being

hit by the car again after he fell off his bike. The other driver may

have been careless, or in a hurry, or impatient, or inattentive at that

moment.

Fellow drivers, you share the

road with other living, breathing people. Therefore, I ask you to ponder

the possible consequences of the attitudes you adopt whenever you slide

behind that wheel.

Do you look at your car as

a source of pride and power, a projection of your image to the outside

world? Are you the best, most important, fastest, or smartest driver on

the road? Do you like to show off your driving skills, the ones that got

you the nickname of "Mario Andretti"?

Do you see yourself as more

important than all those "idiots" you have to share the road

with? Are you impatient to get where you are going? Do you tailgate the

car in front of you in an attempt to intimidate that "fool who won't

get out of the way"? Do you ever become angry or stressed when you

drive? Do you yell at other drivers? Call them names? Does it happen once

in a while, or everytime you drive anywhere? Are you usually in a hurry

because you have to get somewhere right now? Do bad drivers infuriate

you? Make you want to strike back? Do the kids in the backseat, or your

radio, or your phone conversation ever distract you from concentrating

on the road?

Alternatively, I suggest that

you give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, so you can

afford to feel generous toward other drivers. See if you can enjoy letting

other people merge in front of you or give them a chance to get out of

a parking lot or side street when they are stuck due to a long stream

of traffic.

You won't get frazzled by someone

in front of you slowing you down by making a left turn on a busy two-lane

road; you have plenty of time! You might even enjoy making excuses for

the poor driving skills on the part of other people. Make a game of it

"That driver must be lost," "I bet that driver had a hard

day at the office," or, "Whoops, that one must be a teenager

at heart!" It will calm you down, ease back your blood pressure,

and make the roads safer for travelers of all types.

Mary Barranti

Peachtree City