Slow down, gentle driver

It worries me. The rush to get this, that, and the other thing done as fast as one can. The rush to have it all and at as short a time as possible. The rush to be bigger, better than the next guy. The headlong rush at everything and multitasking to the point of craziness. I wonder if 'getting more and more faster and faster' has become the new craze, so much that we don't even stop to enjoy what we have.

Is it the post-Rita stress? Traffic in my city is absolutely crazy these days. Some days, I'm just scared to drive....

Last week, a guy in a car was trying to turn into a road. Nothing wrong with that, but.....said guy also decides to change lanes at the same time and turn into the next lane. Result was, he was trying to turn into my lane, at the very point where I was driving. What the.....! I scrambled to the lane right of me, to avoid an accident....And God knows, if there was someone driving to the right of me, there would have been an accident any which way. Saved by the skin of my teeth, really.

Then there are the tailgaters who weave in and out of lanes, driving dangerously and at high speeds, all the while talking on their cell phones. Not only are they inches away from the previous car's bumper, but if the traffic suddenly slowed or stopped, they'd plow right into it, what with their head constantly turned to one side to see if the next lane is empty, and one hand holding the cellphone.

There are lives at stake here - families at stake. So slow down, guys.....and would you mind putting down that blankety-blank cellphone while you drive? If you need to talk, get off the road, pull into a parking lot - and don't endanger the rest of us on the road. Those few minutes lost due to your exiting the freeway won't cost you much - and why are we rushing so much anyways? Just - slow down. Take a deep breath. Speed is good, but not the maniacal multi-tasking that we are seeing these days, putting our lives in peril.

Turn off that cellphone, or put it in vibrate mode if you absolutely must keep it on. If you get a call, repeat this mantra: a call doesn't have to be answered the minute we get it. Pull off onto the shoulder or into a parking lot, and return that call. That's what caller id and voicemail is for.

Don't know how many women are speed demons, but....please ladies, make-up doesn't have to be worn while driving. There are those few minutes we can use right after we park the car at the destination. Then, we can turn that mirror to our hearts' content, and touch up that lipstick. No harm done. Most of us aren't supermodels getting photographed every minute. And supermodels go in chauffer-driven cars anyways. So what if anyone sees us in the parking lot? Its not illegal, and everybody knows women wear makeup.

To my drive through breakfast eating friends: are you aware that eating on the road is the #1 cause of accidents? Even if you're the safest driver, please think of your safety, and ours. Eat all or some of the breakfast in the parking lot of the drive through place, enough to satisfy the hunger pangs, and eat the rest in the parking lot of your destination. Or just wake up a few minutes early, sit down and liesurely enjoy that breakfast. A few minutes of lost sleep are nothing compared to ...well, you know.

I thought this was it, but discovered more bewildering stuff yesterday. To people like that gentleman who suddenly changed into my lane without bothering to put on the indicator, all the while reading the newspaper(!): would you please catch the news at home? Or anywhere but in a moving car while you're driving it? Why is the news more important than being alive anyway? Its the same old stuff - hurricanes, disasters, sports...... That can wait till you get home. Really.

And then there's a company (whose link I won't provide) that advertises an electric razor that plugs into, of all things, a car's cigarette lighter adapter. Excuse me - but.....shave-and-drive? Are we in a sane world here?

Please, if you feel the urge to make a Deepavali/New Year/Thanksgiving/holiday resolution, forget the "I will lose weight" types of resolutions for now. Just resolve to drive safely, and to be safe. For anything to work, we need to be alive.

So resolve to put down that cellphone; to not weave through lanes at high speeds; to not eat while driving; to not wear makeup while driving, or for heaven's sakes, to not shave while driving.

Happy (belated) Deepavali greetings to everyone!