The Path Of Least Resistance (PLR)

I like to call it PLR...basically it's what I try to inspire people to do when I happen to be in the car with them.

You know those people, friends or family, that drive like they are God's gift to driving. The ones that believe they can get around any kind of traffic they happen upon by taking what they refer to as "Shortcuts"

But those shortcuts take you to places you have never seen and all the twisting and turning through back streets, the herky-jerky starts and stops , all turn you into a sort of bobble head as you sit mesmerized by the efforts of your driver to save precious seconds of time to get to where you are going.

I mean what if you are headed for the dentist? Really, they will drill you when you get there...what's the hurry??

Have you ever been to the dentist and they are on schedule???

It is the glazed look in their eye as they gun their engines, accelerating ahead of the slower drivers, that always reminds me that I should really put my seat belt on. Either that or how they hug the back bumper of someone who is only going 34 in a 35mph speed zone...

These same drivers will often be stymied by other people, who apparently haven't the need to get to the grocery store 30 seconds before everyone else. These other drivers may actually not want to risk damaging their tires on the curb by squeezing around a F-350 that's waiting to go left at a red light. They just don't see the need for speed. They also know the light will turn green...What they may not realize is that I'm in the passenger seat of a car being driven by a maniac!!

When behind those kinda drivers I will often hear my shortcut loving speed freak driver say something like

Doesn't this idiot know he can go right on RED???" or

"I could drive a bus around that truck ! What IS wrong with this Ass----!!??

So I have begun using a little psychology on these drivers, these friends or family members, who can go Jekyll and Hyde behind the wheel over the slightest impediment to our swift journey to the dump or some other time critical destination.

Actually, first I tried humor. I drove with my oldest sister one day from my house to the mall and en route my sister pointed out at least 6 IDIOTS, although she may have had harsher descriptions for a couple of them.

I tried to make light of her rising blood pressure and the crimson color of her face by laughing and saying I had no idea how many IDIOTS were out there driving these days. But rather than laughing she launched into some stories of other idiots she had encountered earlier in the week....

Humor wasn't working.

My new tact is to make a game out of getting from point A to B. I like to challenge the driver to make the fewest turns possible. What this does is cut down on the frequent use of shortcuts and lowers the strain on your neck by eliminating a lot of the twist and turns that come with them. Still we do run into a lot of MORONS!!

Unfortunately they tire quickly of the "game" and revert back to their "need for speed" driving habits...

It's PLR now. It's a state of mind rather than a way of driving. I ask the driver to just follow the road and let whatever happens along the way happen. If someone stops to let another driver pull out...don't let it bother you...just go with the flow. All this angst about getting around a bottleneck of cars or just simply getting from point A to B in record time, isn't worth it..

We will get there and everything will be OK!!

Just drive on the Path Of Least Resistance (-:

IDIOTS,Morons, Maniacs and A _ _ Holes

I never knew there were so many...I suspected there were some out there but I have seen a lot more lately. Idiots, they are everywhere. I guess I just never knew what to look for, but recently I've had the opportunity to be a passenger whilst my Sister - R - was driving.

"R" pointed out that people who drive at exactly 35mph in a 35 mile an hour zone are idiots! I never knew that but she gets pretty worked up about it. In fact if you go any slower than the posted speed limit it's possible you could be classified as a Moron. It's not something they teach you in driving school, but really, what do they know??

Don't pull out in front of "R" except if she slows to let you out. You don't want to be known forever as a Stupid Idiot do you?? Of course, if she slows, pull out and step on it...she's doing you a favor but the clock is ticking...Don't make "R" wait, don't be an Idiot.

Driving on the highway "R" prefers to stay in the fast lane. She has determined that 5 to 10 Mph faster than the speed limit is acceptable. She expects this from everyone around her. Unfortunately not everyone drives this way and this makes them A--Holes. If "R" is behind you in the fast lane and we are close enough to smell the deodorant you put on this morning...please, for my sake, get out of the way!!

While "R" seems to be an avid tailgaiter, don't tailgate her. Somehow it's wrong, I just haven't figured out why yet. Eventually she will approach her turn, move out of the way and then you can speed by her. Of course you will be know as a maniac, a speed demon, and yes..A Moron.

Not only did I see a bunch of wacky drivers while with "R" but some of the ones we came across reminded "R" of some of the "Idiots" she's seen in the past. She told me stories about the lunatics she'd seen out there on the highways and byways. It's scary out there folks. It's equally scary that she has such vivid memories of these Dunderhead Drivers...

I have to say "R", you gotta take some deep breaths, find a happy place, align the chakras and then get in the car...It may cut down on the number of "idiots" you see out there on the roads.

Love you Sis!!! You know I'm your FAVORITE brother!!