Enhance your life with a public service message, originally created June 20, 2019, and updated August 6, 2024:
Drive safely.
Driving safely respects and protects precious lives. Driving safely respects and protects personal and commercial property. Driving safely harmonizes with laws and intelligence. Consider ways to drive safely:
Slow the roll.
Occasionally, there's a need for speed, particularly with "first responders." Yet, many drivers frequently, excessively, and unnecessarily speed — everywhere, every time, all the time. They speed on the roads, across parking lots, and through neighborhoods. They speed through hazardous conditions — carelessly zipping about without regard for other drivers. Even when there's no urgency or emergency, these drivers arrogantly speed-speed-speed without any need-need-need. "Go-go-go" is how they roll. Yet, here’s what they should know:
Speeding endangers and destroys the peaceful lives of precious people. Speeding endangers and destroys precious property. Speeding incurs citations, fines, and inflated insurance rates. Speeding wastes fuel. — Speeding costs. Speeding KILLS.
Considering the accidents, incidents, pains, sufferings, and expenses inflicted by speeding, there's no need to speed everywhere, every time, all of the time. So, slow the roll and relax. Allow time and space to arrive with grace. Prove to be an intelligent and considerate driver by consciously refusing the practice of dangerous and unnecessary speeding.
Back-off.
Traffic’s moving smoothly with proper space between a few smart and safe drivers. Suddenly, here comes the rush of antsy and speedy drivers who are now insistently tailgating. It’s a silly phenomenon, as many drivers are obsessed with tailgating, like they’re obsessed with morning coffee.
Why drive so closely to that vehicle? STOP TAILGATING. Tailgating causes rear-end collisions and braking systems wear. Tailgating causes drivers to roll over destructive road debris that could have been avoided, if only the tailgaters had space and time to see it and react. Tailgating irritates and disrupts careful drivers who cautiously and intelligently choose to avoid speeding and tailgating. Tailgating contributes to road-rage incidents. — Avoid persistent tailgating by maintaining a four-second distance behind the car ahead.
Share the road.
Traffic’s moving smoothly with adequate space for drivers to change lanes or merge. Suddenly, the change or merge is blocked by selfish, speedy, and tailgating drivers.
Don't be a selfish driver. Instead, relax, ease off the gas pedal, and allow other drivers to get in, out, and over. Share the road without road rage.
Look ahead and see the red.
Why speed toward the red? Look ahead and see the traffic congestion and the red traffic-signals. See the red vehicular brake lights. Red lights signify "slow-down" and "stop." Yet, many drivers persistently press on the gas pedal as if there are no red lights ahead at all.
It's silly to speed towards red lights. Instead, ease off the gas pedal and coast up to those red lights. Ease off the gas pedal and allow momentum to move the car forward. Really, there's no need to persistently press on the gas pedal when an inevitable "stop" is clearly ahead. The sensible ability to [see ahead] and [not speed towards red] conserves fuel, reduces braking systems wear, and reduces accidents.
Release it.
Really, it can wait. Wait until the automobile is safely stopped before texting. Then, stop the texting and release the phone as soon as traffic moves. Don't contribute to traffic congestion by sitting at a greenlight, preoccupied with the phone. Go when the cars ahead go, without excessive latency.
Just wear it.
Wear the seatbelt. Wearing the seatbelt can save lives, and it's the law. — Yes: Click it, or suffer the ticket.
