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BGonline.org Forums
Let me clear my throat
Posted By: Tom Keith In Response To: Let me clear my throat (Stick)
Date: Monday, 12 May 2008, at 4:30 p.m.
Driving is an interesting activity. For most of us, it is probably the most dangerous activity that we engage in on a regular basis; one moment of inattention can lead to serious injury or even death. On the other hand, driving is pretty boring. There's not a lot to do -- just keep your car centered in the lane and don't follow too closely.
That's quite a combination -- highly dangerous and very boring.
Different drivers deal with this in different ways. Some take a very conservative approach so they can think about other things and relieve the bordom that way. (Talking on a cellphone is good.) This is fine as long as nothing unexpected happens. But when something unusual does happen, reaction time is longer because their mind is on other things. And these drivers are not as aware of other cars and obstacles so they can't react as quickly or smartly.
Others drive very aggressively so the driving experience itself is not so boring. These drivers devote their complete attention to driving, but they push safety to the limit to keep the task at hand interesting. They are keenly aware of everything else on the road. They have to be to safely perform their aggressive maneuvers. Also, they are in general better drivers because they are always learning. Still, because they work with much narrower safety tolerances, when things go wrong they can go very wrong very quickly.
Neither type of driver likes the other. The conservative/inattentive drivers think the aggressive drivers create needless distractions. The aggressive/hypersensitive drivers find the conservative drivers too unpredictable and create unnecessary congestion by not being aware of the flow of traffic.
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