Is there anybody out there who knows how to drive?  I mean anyone who knows the rules of the road and exercises even a sliver of courtesy when behind the wheel? 

 

The other day I am in a parking lot.  Now I know it’s kind of a free for all in a parking lot, but I am going down a long aisle (in a car) that runs the length of the lot.  And that means I have the right of way, folks.  So what happens?  This person comes in from the side and turns right in front of me so that I have to come to almost a complete stop.  And it’s not like they didn’t see me either.  They pulled up, watched me coming down the row, and then when I was almost right on top of them pulled out in front of me.  What’s up with that? 

 

The same thing happened the other day when I was on a bike.  I was riding on the right hand side of the road, the spot where I am legally required to be, when somebody comes up a side street and runs the stop sign to turns left onto the street I am on, cutting right across in front of me so that again, I have to hit the brakes and come to a stop in order to allow them to perform their illegal maneuver.  And in both cases it wasn’t some wizened old lady who probably can’t see much beyond the end of her hood.  Nor was it some smart aleck kid wearing his baseball cap on sideways.  In both cases it was a middle aged adult who should know better and in both cases they didn’t blink an eye or act like there was anything out of the norm.  I was simply in their way and they were going to ignore the fact that I existed. 

 

What the heck is wrong with people I started to think, but then another thought occurred to me. 

 

Certainly, part of the problem is a growing social stupidity on the part of the American people.  This is a stupidity that cuts across age, sex, and racial lines and is born out of people’s increasing belief that if they are going somewhere or doing something that it somehow trumps everything else that is going on in the world.  Not sure there is anything I can do about that other than be annoyed by it. 

 

But part of it is that in America we have no nationally recognized way for one driver to  let another driver know “I’m an idiot, what I did was really stupid, I don’t know what I was thinking”.   We have several very well known hand signals to let someone know that we think they’re an idiot, but none for someone to do themselves, the motor vehicle  equivalent of the raised hand on a basketball foul. 

 

Some people do take a crack at it.  Some smile.  A few wave.   Now I don’t know about you, but when someone does something stupid that I have to go out of my way to avoid, the last thing I want is a smile and a wave.  That’s just not the best way to handle the situation, if you know what I mean.   And that is why most people do nothing.  They’re not rude (well, not sure I am ready to publically defend that remark).  They just don’t have any way to express how they are feeling. 

 

And this is something I can help with, because we at Shirey Consulting Services are all about solutions.  And so, here is my suggestion.  When you do something that is really stupid, I suggest hitting your forehead with the palm of your hand, followed by kind of a bewildered shoulder shrug.  And that will say to everyone around you – ‘I can’t believe what I just did, I don’t know what I was thinking, and yes, I know that I am an idiot’. 

 

Why someone else hasn’t thought about this is beyond me.  What are our police and legislators spending their time on?  Or is it possible, just strangely possible, that no one else thinks like me?  I don’t know.  But feel free to use this when you do something dumb.  It might catch on. 

 

Gee it feels good to be part of the solution!