When I woke up on my 15th birthday, the only gift I wanted was to get my driver’s license. I remember going with my grandmother to the DMV office, and I was waiting at the doors when the instructor unlocked the door.
I knew the rules of the road because my dad had been teaching me how to drive since I was 10 years old. I always sat right next to him, and he’d pass on his driving knowledge, especially on long trips.
He told me to look at the interstate as a slow-moving play and I needed to pay as much attention to what was behind me as to what was in front of me.
There weren’t that many cars on the road back then, so it was easy to plot out where I needed to be so I wouldn’t get stuck.
“Just play it slow and think out your moves,” he said.
That was then.
This is now.
And, sorry to tell you Dad, but the rules have changed.
There is no playing it slow on the interstate. Driving on any major thoroughfare is similar to Luke Skywalker trying to blast the Death Star as he barrels down a narrow corridor with enemy ships all around.
Cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses and SUVs zoom along I-10 at a minimum of 70 miles per hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic. One slam of the brakes results in a chain reaction of dented fenders a mile long.
People don’t use their turn signals. In fact, they usually change three lanes at a time at break-neck speed. Turn signals are obviously optional accessories on their vehicles, and there’s never time for other drivers to use logic to figure out what to do – it’s survival of the quickest.
One of the moves I always dread is merging into traffic. When I first got my license, I could count on the generosity of other drivers.
Cars on the interstate either moved over to the left-hand lane when somebody was entering or slowed down to let the merger in.
Not today.
Most of the time, the incoming cars either hit the gas and zoom in front of you or they go too slow, causing the impatient drivers behind them to swerve around the slow vehicle and cut in front of you.
I can grumble all I want, but there’s no getting around the importance of vehicles in a Texan’s life. Our cars aren’t simply gas guzzlers to take us from Place A to Place B. They’re our home away from home.
We talk on the phone in our cars, check our email while at red lights, send text messages when we shouldn’t and some of us eat most of our meals in the car.
We have family meetings in the mini-van on the way to soccer or baseball practice, and we hold Bluetooth phone meetings on the commute home.
We usually don’t mind spending that much time in our vehicles because they’re pretty comfortable – leather seats, air conditioning and sound systems that resemble Carnegie Hall.
Even better, today’s car is smart. In fact, it’s smarter than most people.
Your car knows the temperature inside and outside, when the engine’s about to overheat and the tire pressure on all four tires at all times.
Your vehicle will nag incessantly if you leave the keys in the ignition, the oil’s too low or if you left the headlights on. Better yet, the car just turns those off for you.
But some driving skills never go out of style – pay attention to what’s around you, courtesy goes a long way and always check the rear-view mirror.
And most of all, when you merge into traffic on I-10 or Highway 59, may the Force be with you.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.