| A
refresher on courteous driving
By Jamee
Hutton
While many of us out there were once taught how to drive
correctly, it is safe to say that at some point in our
driving history everyone has forgotten a few of the
rules and become an uncourteous driver.
There are many nuisances out there today and when you
get on the road they can instantly become magnified.
Everyone else stuck in traffic is just as unhappy about
it as you are so there is no need to worsen the situation
by honking and screaming at everyone. Also please remember
that turn signals were invented for a reason. Nobody
likes the car that magically pops in and out of lanes
without warning. It has been conveniently placed next
to the steering wheel for a reason, learn how to use
it.
Knowing when it is your turn to go can be tricky at
times, but thanks to stop lights this problem is easily
solved. When the light is red, you stop. When it is
green, you go. Remember that game you use to play as
a kid that used the same principle? This next one can
sometimes be confusing: when the light turns yellow
it does not mean to speed up to beat the red light,
even though that is what most of us think, it means
you need to begin slowing down in preparation for the
red light.
While stop lights are self explanatory, four-way stops
can be a thing of confusion. Let us review the rules
of a four-way stop. When you approach if you have made
a complete stop, notice the words "complete"
and "stop," and did so before anyone else
at the stop, you may go first. This does not mean you
sped up and tapped lightly on the breaks while continuing
through the stop sign. If you happen to come to a four-way
stop at the same time, the person on the right should
go first. If you are straight across from the other
car and are both going straight you may proceed at the
same time.
While there are many more driving rules to cover we
feel it is more important to go over some common courtesies
that will some day come back around to you:
1. A thank you wave is always welcomed when someone
has let you merge into traffic.
2. Letting others merge onto a busy road or highway
will not kill you and will someday come back to you.
3. When at a stop light if there is a road or an entrance
you could block by pulling forward, don't. Leave it
open and let other cars merge onto the road with you.
NW
JJ
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