Road rage

I’m not the best driver in the world, I can admit that. A few years ago I was involved in a collision. It was not devastating, but it was my fault. I didn’t react fast enough, I didn’t make the right decision in the moment.

The greatest cost to me was to replace my car and swallow a bitter insurance pill. But it could have been much, much worse.

At the time of writing, the report was not yet in on why there was a horrific and fatal collision in Hillier. Not that it matters. It didn’t stop a thousand scenarios from swimming through my head. What might have happened? What would I have done, in that position? Would I have made the right choice? Would I have made it quickly enough?

What actually happened doesn’t matter. What matters is two lives were lost and three more were changed forever by a heavy machine that is so ubiquitous, around here it’s a given to have access to one.

What matters is also what this tragedy brings to our minds. The decisions we make when we get into cars or trucks or motorcycles have very real consequences. Driving schools do, or at least ought to, teach how to react in an emergency, but how many of us can recall those lessons?

How many of us could react in time to avoid a collision? Not me, apparently.

This is not a frequent occurrence, and that’s good. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be mindful. Summer is upon us. People who rarely drive on country roads are arriving in large numbers.

But what concerns me most are the reasons for the decisions we do make. The reasons are not always about safety. Drivers are not courteous. In fact, one can easily find studies showing otherwise pleasant people become near sociopathic behind the wheel.

Here’s a dangerous scenario: Impatient drivers and lesson-givers. A lesson-giver will drive the speed limit, while an impatient driver seethes behind. When the impatient driver attempts to pass, on broken yellow lines really only meant for passing tractors, the lesson-giver will speed up, blocking the lane.

Sound familiar? Be honest, which one are you? Maybe just the driver coming up a hill in the opposite direction. How would you react?

Let’s try something. Let’s be more patient behind the wheel. Let’s be courteous and slow down when faster drivers want to pass. Let’s respect our towns and villages and slow down. If we wanted to live fast lives, we’d all move to Toronto.

I’d like to think the two men who died on Saturday didn’t do so in vain. A tragedy like this should make us all stop to think about the power of the machines we drive, and the harm they can cause if we misuse them.

mihal@mihalzada.com