Why I'm Still Driving

Why I'm Still Driving

Some would say driving here is not for the faint of heart.  It's a resort community, so there are always visitors hunting for clues that might lead them to their destinations.  Worse yet, it's a retirement community.  Many who visited regularly with their families when they were young, returned to live full time where they so enjoyed visiting for too short a time in years past.

Not content to leave a difficult situation alone, the city fathers, or perhaps the developers--embarrassed at the environmental damage that massive migration here by both of he groups mentioned above simply had to cause--sought to maintain the appearance of the island's unspoiled appeal.  They created rules that limited the size and location of signs, restricted the outdoor lighting, forbade the cutting of trees without a permit--not just cutting down trees, but the mere trimming of a tree or trees.  Now, think about that for a minute.  Tourists driving onto the island in the dark, after driving for eight to fifteen hours to get here, now have to find their way without the benefit of a visible sign, or a well-lit, broad avenue.  Think also of the senior citizens, no longer confident in their night time eyesight, driving slowly down the road headed for home.

Now add to that the fact that the leading cause of fatal accidents is not speed, nor is it driving while intoxicated, or even road rage.  It is, quite simply, distracted driving, not paying attention to where they are going.  It's true.  How is that scenario of the arriving visitor fitting that profile?  From "when are we gonna get there, Daddy," to "I really have to go," to "where is that blasted sign?" to "you just missed it, you were supposed to turn right there!"  Driven to distraction, impaired by fatigue and eyestrain, it's a wonder they make it at all.  Then there are the seniors, ambling along at thirty in a forty-five zone, in the left lane of course.  Must have been gabbing with their passengers, or telling a story they could still picture at this very moment, otherwise, how do you explain the sudden right turn from the left lane?  Did you know also that senior citizens and teenagers are the two most dangerous age-groups behind the wheel?

Here, we have a median age nearly twice that of the nation, and we have more than two million visitors each year.  Why aren't we all dying off in car accidents, or at least driven crazy by the act of driving?  I think it's "adaptation."  Local drivers have developed the ability to shrug it off, to notice the out-of-state tags and be wary of their next move.  Who knows when his wife (or her husband) will yell, "There's your turn, right there!" and the startled driver will turn without warning from the opposite lane, or cut you off as you approach the intersection and he turns left in front of
us.

We've learned to nod and smile in disbelief when the geezer in front of them rolls along at thirty in the left lane.  If we are lucky, he will slow down, move into the right lane a few blocks before his turn, and leave his turn signal on for several blocks.  He will tap the brakes at each driveway or street in case it's the one where he has to turn.  Then, when he gets to his turn, he stomps on the brakes in the traffic lane, nearly coming to a full stop in the traffic lane before making his right turn.  Or, while rolling along in the left lane, he will notice his turn is right here--and he'll cut straight across without applying his brakes at all, proving he can turn at thirty just as well as at five miles per hour.

When locals get together, they will tell about the latest crazy move someone made in the road recently.  By developing this penchant for gathering our "I can top that"stories, we have improved our awareness of the drivers around us, and we are better for it.  We are not distracted, we are focused on defensive driving.  We learn to anticipate and be prepared for even the craziest of moves, like the driver coming out of a two-lane street that is divided by a parkway of grass and shrubs who has failed to notice he was supposed to cross that parkway before turning and is now driving the wrong way on a one way street, and wait until you see what they will do to extricate themselves from that situation!

But, back to my personal situation.  I have, in the past eleven years, developed that sense of defensive anticipation more keenly than most people driving in "normal" cities and towns.  Even as I pass Paul McCartney's long ago measuring stick for being really old--a new stanza has been added  to the lyrics--

and when I'm so old, just barely alive, 

will you still keep on letting me drive?  

will you still trust me, 

sure you won't bust me 

when I'm sixty-four?   

I'm still out there driving, and sooner or later, people will be shaking their heads at how I drive.  But I'm thinking most of them are conditioned to look out for geezers like me.  As long as I don't leave the island, I think I'll be able to drive while staying alive.