Dear Ms. SUV and Mr. Prius:
It’s me. The lady you cut off today in order to advance .001 mile further down the road. I just wanted to write you a brief note to thank you for making my morning commute a game of Mario Kart.
I understand that I had an enviable cushion of space between me and the car in front, but I want that bit of space for a reason. You see, according to Smart Motorist’s Web site, a safe distance between cars driving 75 mph (and you know we were) is 333 feet. In heavy traffic, that number doubles to 666 feet, but we’ll just pretend there weren’t that many cars on the Grade this morning. Smart Motorist—and aren’t we all smart motorists — gives the following rule of thumb for deciding if you’re following too closely:
“To determine the right following distance, first select a fixed object on the road ahead such as a sign, tree or overpass. When the vehicle ahead of you passes the object, slowly count ‘one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand.’ If you reach the object before completing the count, you’re following too closely.”
Easy, isn’t it? You can even make it a game you can play with the kids, Ms. SUV.
Now I understand that you both have lightening quick, cat-like reflexes and only require two feet of space to come to a complete stop, but I don’t. Before my first four cups of coffee, I really don’t have any reflexes. Maybe I should have stopped at Starbucks like you did, Ms. SUV. That venti you were drinking looked really yummy. I would have tried to signal you to find out where you got it, but you were enjoying a nice chat on the phone.
I also understand, Mr. Prius, that your super cool, technologically advanced vehicle has the ability to jump over a car if it suddenly stops in front of you. Unfortunately, I’m driving a ‘91 (yes, from the last century) Prelude that was made with recycled aluminum cans and tends to crumple when I sneeze on it.
You can both understand, perhaps, that considering the above, I would appreciate you allowing me my bit of space.
In closing, let me thank you again for that quick spurt of adrenaline this morning. There’s nothing like a couple of near collisions to get the ol’ heart pumping. I’m sure the driver of the truck you swerved around to jockey for a better position in front of me would agree.
Mandy Dawson is a mother and wife who commutes daily from Paso Robles to her job in San Luis Obispo. She has been driving for more than 15 years. She passed drivers ed with flying colors. She has occasionally been guilty of talking on her cell phone but never while drinking Starbucks.
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