The Pope recently issued a formal statement encouraging drivers to be more cautious and considerate on the road. Along with that, he created the "Drivers' Ten Commandments" as guidelines for drivers to follow. Now, I definitely was surprised to hear about this, but I was also glad. Dallas drivers certainly need to read these commandments - and KEEP them!
For those of you who don't know, I'm originally from Indiana. I know, I know: it may sound like corn country, but most people there actually drive quite well. I've noticed the following:
1. First, in the Midwest, people understand how to MERGE. Meaning that they will actually slow down to allow another onto the highway. Revolutionary! Dallas drivers are absolutely clueless when it comes to this.
2. Second, in the Midwest, people actually drive more slowly when it's pouring rain, snowing, sleeting, hailing, or if any other type of precipitation happens to be falling. In Dallas, you're on your own. Personally, I'm usually not afraid to drive in ice, snow, rain, or what have you; however, I AM afraid of Dallas drivers. Let the driver beware!
3. Third, (and this really bothers me), some of the rudest and most inconsiderate drivers in Texas have a Jesus fish stuck on the back of their cars. People, if you're going to drive like that, please leave the Ichthus at home. If you're going to broadcast the fact that you are a Christian, then PLEASE act like one!
4. Fourth, road rage here is just plain scary. In Indiana, I can't remember ever being honked at, flipped off, or yelled at while I was driving. However, I must say that I've heard more than a few honks (etcetera) in the ten years I've lived here. Yet I'm a good driver - and an extremely defensive driver! My husband tends to be a little more aggressive in the car than I am. I always tell him to be careful because here, unlike in Indiana, you never know when somebody's got a sawed-off shotgun in the back of their 4 x 4 that they're rarin' to use!
5. The moral of the story is: let's treat people in cars the way we would treat them if we met them on the street. That hunk of metal and rubber doesn't entitle us to be rude or careless. Our call to "love God and love people" is the same no matter where we are!
For more "deep thoughts" on this subject and to read the "Drivers' Ten Commandments" issued by the Vatican, please check out Anne Jackson's hilarious blog at flowerdust.net. Thanks! Any comments would be welcome and appreciated.
Hi Marla,
ResponderEliminarI came here via the 3.1.6. journal site. I lived in Dallas for 10 years, and your traffic stories are all too familiar. (Is it scary that some of them made me laugh? Not from humor but from commiseration.)
My family and I now live in the DC area, and driving is possibly even worse out here! Life is lived at a break-neck pace in the Nation's Capitol. We stop for nuthin'!
Hi, Erin! Thanks so much for your post. Yes, Dallas traffic is quite an enigma. But I do have to say that at least traffic here is not as heavy as it is in DC, New York, Chicago, or many other big cities.
ResponderEliminarI was in DC a few years ago. Those traffic circles (roundabouts, as the Europeans call them) were pretty crazy!
My husband and I actually live in Frisco, which is about 30 minutes north of Dallas, so the traffic is usually not bad here at all. We just try to avoid going downtown as much as possible!
Glad to hear that you found out about 3.1.6. It's a great journal! You should submit to it!
Thank you so much for posting. Please come back often and send your friends my way! :)
Blessings-
Marla