Some Days Are Bumpers

I was out and about early this morning.  Traffic was light.  I was behind a minivan with this bumper sticker:

For me, these new driver signs are effective.  I automatically gave the minivan in front of me a wide berth.  I had a heightened awareness of the potential for unexplained slowing down, swerving, or stopping. The driver's passenger could be patiently coaching or impatiently slamming the imaginary brake.

We stopped at a light. The car with the bumper sticker remained in front so I was unable to see the face of the possible student driver. No way to ascertain degree of driving confidence.

I could see the drivers to my right and to my left however.  One was a man who was clean shaven. Corporate casual looking.  He was talking to himself.  More than likely, he was talking on his handsfree cellphone.

To my left was a twenty-something woman.  She looked comatose, staring straight ahead, still.  I wanted to beep the horn to help her out in the event she had fallen back asleep.  But I could not.  The student driver in front of me could freak out.

When the light turned green and we moved on, I got to thinking. Thinking about New Driver, Business Caller, and Not Awake and all the others who were out and about early this morning. Thinking how other bumper sticker would be helpful:

Please Be Patient, Heartbroken Driver

Please Be Patient, Infertile Driver

Please Be Patient, Parenting a Sick Child Driver

Please Be Patient, Insecurely Employed Driver

There is a beautiful quote, “Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” Good rule of the road, in or out of the car.