Drivers We All Love

We hate it, rude and reckless drivers. We hate it because we chose to be civil and abide by the road rules, yet they get to weave in and out of lanes however they please. We hate it because we wait patiently in line while they simply overtake from the emergency lane and force their way back into traffic way in front of us. We hate the way they beat traffic lights when we need to stop for them. We hate their inability to allow cars from slip streams or other lanes make lane-changes. We hate it when they tailgate you on the highway and keep flashing their headlights to get you to give way.  We hate their lack of respect for our attempt at showing some respect for each other on the road. We hate the fact that they are so arrogant because they drive expensive cars and we don't.

What goes through our heads when they do these things to us is that they must be laughing at us and calling us stupid idiots for not doing what they did. And that gets our tempers flared up. That pisses us off. That makes us swear that next time won't be that easy. Next time we will not let them pass! But what if next time, the person trying to pass has a pregnant passenger who's water just broke and is going into labour? What if the one you will not allow to pass is having diarrhoea and is rushing to the nearest toilet before it explodes? What if the next one is actually rushing to hospital? Recent newspaper article proves that most Malaysians, in emergencies, do not rely on Ambulances to take them to hospitals.

So they drive their own cars. Their cars, like ours, do not have the words AMBULANS written across the front. They do not have sirens on their roofs. They may be SUVs, they may be sedans. They may also be one of those lala-fied Wajas that look like a 5 Series. What is important is that they may be rushing to prevent a death. May I ask you now, how much do you have to lose when you allow them passage? What do you have to sacrifice whenever you let them through? I know that you may save a life.

Sure most of the time the ones you meet on the roads will be the ones who laugh at you and call you stupid for waiting in line instead of using the emergency lane. We will just have to be the kind of drivers who adhere to road rules because they are there for a reason. And we will also allow reckless drivers pass because one in the ten you let pass will be on their way to the hospital, and they will thank you in their hearts for your kindness and for not being judgemental. Their loved ones will be saved. They will in the future learn to let other reckless drivers pass because they know that one in ten will be rushing to a hospital. We're not here to teach each other lessons in life. But again, I don't get myself stuck in daily rush hour traffic as often as most I know so I'm not really in the place to preach.