Driving Wisdom

I was watching the local television news and I saw a short news clip about an incident that just happened in Richmond, Va. I was immediately reminded of something that my father said to me many long years ago when I was a new driver.

The incident in Richmond was a car wreck in which a 24-year old woman was killed. She was driving on the interstate highway when the car in front of her crashed into another car, thereby stopping very quickly. The young woman couldn't stop her car in time and plowed into the wreckage. She was killed.

The news about the wreck caused me to remember something that happened when I was a new driver in my teens. I was driving my dad's car and he was sitting in the passenger seat beside me. I was following a car ahead of me rather closely, and my father commented, "You're too close to that car."

Being a new driver and therefore knowing it all, I replied, "I can stop as fast as he can stop."

My dad didn't argue or offer explanations. If he had, I probably would have forgotten his words long ago. He simply asked, "What if he stops faster than he can stop?"

I hadn't thought of that. I thought only of the man ahead of me slamming on his brakes, but I hadn't considered what might happen if his car hit something and stopped almost instantly. My dad was right, as usual. I slowed and put more distance between our car and the car in front of us.

I've never forgotten his words of wisdom, and I wish other drivers could hear them.