My favourite letter in the alphabet is “why”

Raising four kids has been fun and tough at the same time. Having patience has made it easier to keep the kids in line and to help educate and correct them when they’ve made mistakes. As any parent has heard many, many times before, the kids will often ask “why?” after you’ve explained things to them. Knowing why we do things makes it easier for us to make logical decisions in life. As my dad would often say, if you don’t know why you’re doing something, why do it?

This made me think about all the things we see drivers do each day we drive. Do you think they know why they’re doing what they’re doing? We’ve all shaken our heads at people after they do strange things, but sometimes they may have a good reason to act that way; a good reason for them only.

Do you wonder why drivers tailgate other drivers? I mean, why drive so close to another vehicle so that if they suddenly stopped, the tailgating driver would severely damage their own vehicle? Why would they cause thousands of dollars of damage – on purpose? If they really knew their own abilities, they would create a larger gap between their vehicle and the vehicle ahead of them so they could stop in time if the sudden need arises. Why put your vehicle and your life in the hands of the driver ahead of you?

I often wonder why drivers would drive erratically in and out of traffic. Weaving in and out trying to get ahead when most of the time they weave through traffic just to get to a red light sooner. All of the traffic they’ve passed just reaches the red light only a few seconds later. If that’s the case, what was the advantage for the weaving driver to weave? Did they even realize they didn’t gain anything? Wouldn’t driving with the flow of traffic be easier to reach their destination than weaving throughout the tiny spaces others drivers give you?

As a parent it often frustrates me when I see kids being at risk because of careless adults. With that being said, why do drivers drive dangerously with not just themselves in the vehicle, but with kids in the vehicle? Are they thinking about what could happen to the kids if they crash or suddenly change direction? I’ve seen the driver not wear their seatbelt but made sure their kids did. Did they want their kids to lose a parent in the event of a crash?

Why do drivers spin their tires and accelerate quickly when the traffic light turns green? It usually only means they’ll reach the next stoppage in traffic sooner, but in doing so wasted more fuel, along with worn tires. With the high price of gas in today’s society, why waste your money? Smoother acceleration uses less fuel and also allows you to time your travels so you may not reach the red light. If you can keep your vehicle moving, the engine works less thus saving you fuel and stress.

Why do drivers intentionally run red lights? Quite often it only means they’re getting to another red light. I watched a driver run through a red light with a red light camera catching a picture of them, only to stop at the very next intersection. What was their gain? I know what they lost. When the amber light comes on, stop if it’s safe to do so.

If you do any of these things I’ve mentioned or anything else that may damage your vehicle, injure you or injure your passengers, I just have one question for you – why?