Cars and their drivers

I've been thinking for sometime (dangerous, I know... sane people go into hiding when I think too hard!).

What is it that apparently changes people when they get into a car (or often worse still, behind a keyboard on a forum)?

Well, I think the answer is that it DOESN'T change people. What you get is someone who is isolated from their environment sufficiently for them to show what a d*ckhead they really are in real life.

It's a sad indightment of humanity that most (yes I said MOST) people are:

• Lacking the basic social skills at a heart-and-soul level.
  Yes they will "do the right thing" when they think someone will judge them and that judgement is likely to impact them, but most people in my experience are actually down at heart ignorant and selfish. Those who really think about and care about others enough to make this world a better place are, in my opinion and assessment, in the low 5%-10%
  
  
• Lacking intelligence
  Some people are good at their jobs, others are good at their hobbies, a small number are plain genius, but few people actually have sufficient overall intelligence to be allowed behind a car steering wheel.
  Why does driving a car require intelligence? Because driving is all about cause and effect, and few people have the foresight or understanding to fully appreciate the "effect" part of their actions.

There's nothing that you or I can do for these poor fools who have no idea that their desire to get to work 5 minutes earlier, or that business meeting or that phone call is actually completely irrelevant in the scheme of life They are deluded that they, and their needs, are in some way important - but the fact of life is that we're all pretty insignificant and disposable, and that NOTHING is worth putting your own safety or others safety at risk.

They don't realise that driving 2 meters off your rear bumper at 70 miles per hour is actually not achieving anything... in their own small world it is achieving some kind of satisfaction that they're "doing something", to get to where they want to be when in actual fact they're causing the whole process to get more difficult, because all you're then doing is taking great delight in holding them up :) Cause and effect - y'see?

The macho male or dimwitted female (yes, ok, stereotypes... but they DO exist) who doesn't even look in your direction before swinging into your lane in front of you has more problems than they care to admit - their tunnel vision is impeding their progress through life as it goes beyond driving, it shows a lack of attention to detail that will see them get to retirement age and wonder what happened... whereas you and I will have a life full of achievement and wonderment.

So when the guy behind you is tailgating, or the guy in front cuts you up, or you see some other idiot doing something equally foolish on the roads... pity them rather than getting angry. It's not their fault they are dimwitted and slow of thought, or lack enough heart to truly love or be loved... that's just the way they are, and perhaps an indightment on their parents and social circle.

So - drive with care and consideration and be a role model to these poor fools... who knows, your good actions might actually show them a new way of behaving. It's unlikely that they've got the mental capacity to grasp such concepts, but you never know - genetic wonders do happen!

Be kind to others. leave plenty of space in front of you (it'll help your passenger (if any) have a comfortable journey as well as relaxing you much more than you could think possible). Set the example and most of all...

Be careful out there, it's a jungle!

:)

New car time

Well - it's that time again.

The old stagecoach has done nearly 100,000 miles, and I'm sure has another 100,000 left in it, but it's starting to show its age. The ESP has a warning light on, the power steering takes a while to start up some mornings and the last MOT had an "advisory note" attached to the back of it telling me it was time to start spending some money.

My old Skoda has done me well, but the search for a new car is never easy. My in-laws have tarred me with the brush of never being able to make a decision (whereas I think they're impulsive - the kind that invariably go into a garage "for a look" and come out with a new car or caravan).

I like to do my research you see. I don't spend money easily and I know what I want.

The Skoda had a range of "toys" that I appreciated - cruise control, heated seats, heated door mirrors, air conditioning, reverse parking sensors, etc etc. but the top of my list of "must haves" are:

• Cruise control - I spend many weekends driving up and down between Scotland and England and it's a painful enough journey (in many ways), but the CC makes the journey a bit more bearable. I can move around and relax by old back/hips/knees.
• Heated seats - being a bit of a nutter, I spend weekends standing in wet, muddy, cold fields shooting arrows at a target, then collecting, then repeating. I've been unfortunate to shoot in temperatures as low as zero degrees, with hailstones battering my face and hands.... there's nothing finer than getting into the car, cold, wet, miserable, putting on the seats and just relaxing of a lunchbreak, or on the way home

Yes I could live without these "toys", but I'm afraid I've come to realise that life is all about the pleasures, and both of these gadgets give me pleasure (or at least ease the pain) in some way.

So - having seen my wife's Hyundai i30 perform admirably over the last year, I decided to go hunting for either that or an Octavia Estate (again, boot space is a premium for me as my sport requires me to cart around a ridiculous amount of "stuff" when I compete - even worse when my wife is competing too!)

Not many Octavia's took my fancy, but doing my research I found that the 2-litre i30 Premium had both of my must haves plus a range of other toys... such as leather heated seats, climate control, nice big alloys, six speed gearbox, buketload of airbags, typre pressure monitor, reverse parking sensors, rain sensor, light sensor, auto dimming rear-view mirror, electronic stability control, RDS radio AND an iPod/MP3/Flash memory stick connector for plenty of music options on those long drives south (and north). Toy heaven or what? PLUS the balance of a five year warranty to boot.

So - went in to test drive last Saturday, chucked it around the local roads and motorways for half an hour and half an hour later I'd bought it!

Who says I can't make a decision!?

So... I pick up my year and a half-old i30 with 9,000 miles on the clock next saturday and awaaaay we go! Here's hoping it's as reliable as the Fabia was... I'll miss that old car (in fact it's probably the first car I've had in a decade that I will miss).