OC HIGH: STUDENT NEWS & VIEWS : Driven to Distraction by Rudes of the Road

Driving in California is a lot like playing the lottery: Motorists take their chances every time they get in a car.

Use of the turn signal has all but disappeared. The turn signal was put on the steering column for convenience--so drivers no longer had to go to all the effort of putting their arms out of windows to signal. Now, the flick of the wrist seems to be too much trouble.

Another thing California drivers, especially teen-agers, seem to do is drive emotionally. This means driving when they’re angry, crying, depressed or even carelessly happy. People pay more attention to their feelings than to the road. If a person cuts them off, they have to get revenge or they speed up, just so the driver next to them can’t get into their lane.

Speeding has always been a problem. The kind I really mind is when a person is speeding recklessly and weaving in and out of traffic. My theory is, if a person is late already, does it really matter how late? To put it in even simpler terms: If the tardy bell rings, why rush to class when you’ll get a tardy anyway?

These statements only sound familiar because people have been saying them for years. They aren’t nagging; they’re common sense.

Here are another couple of thoughts: Driving is not a competition to see who can break the most laws or who can get the best revenge. Driving is a way to get from here to there, safely.