Driving Attitudes

How about a short quiz? Not good at tests? No worries! All the correct answers are up to you.

1. Are you a good driver?

2. Do you enjoy driving?

3. When you see a cop, do you apply “step on” your brakes?

4. Do you drive differently when you’re being followed by a COP?

5. Do you like your car and are you proud of it?

6. Do you fear the COPS?

Take your time answering these questions. In fact I hope you consider them every time you drive.

Before I continue, I’d like to explain the term COPS. When I was in junior high school a classmate was reprimanded by our teacher for referring to law enforcement officers as COPS. My friend explained that his father, a former Whitman County Sheriff Deputy, said that COP was an abbreviation for “Chief of Police”.

More recently I asked some local Washington State Patrol Troopers if they consider the term COP as disrespectful? They all responded and replied with a smile they had been referred to as much worse. They further explained that the term COP comes from the British for “Constables on Patrol” . Not disrespectful at all!

Back to the quiz. Please remember my comments are only my opinions and I welcome any intelligent discussions.

Relating to questions 1 & 2. (Are you a good driver? And Do you enjoy driving?) My own observations are that no one can get very good at anything unless they enjoy it. There are exceptions but for the most part, if you aren’t enjoying what you do, you are not likely to become very good at it.

I know a guy who runs a track-hoe day in and day out. I once asked him if it didn’t become boring over time? He replied, “No, I still enjoy it.”

My guess is that his is very good at it, and is always trying to improve his skills!

In regards to question 3. ( When you see a COP, do you apply “step on” your brakes?) Why would you brake or slow down if you weren’t speeding to start with? It might be helpful if you understand that by the time you see a COP and brake, you’ve already been “clocked”. The decision whether or not to stop you has already been made. Only your attitude can help you now!

As for question 4. (Do you drive differently when you’re being followed by a COP?) My response is similar to question 3. It does reflect on the general “prevalent” attitude that anything is OK as long as you don’t get caught.

Question 5. (Do you like your car and are you proud of it?) It is my opinion that drivers who like their vehicle, take better care of it and drive more carefully in order to protect the car they like.

In regards to questions 6. (Do you fear the COPS?). If you fear COPS, you must have a good reason to - real or imagined.

We first started having traffic in this country over 100 years ago. Our system has evolved from a few Model T’s on a wagon trail to millions of vehicles on 6, 8 or even ten superhighway lanes. From Model T we’ve come to 1,200 pound mini-cars and 100,000 pound truck combinations. Speeds have gone from 20 MPH to 65 MPH and more!

Some of these rules of the road seem unreasonable. The facts remain that the more of us who follow these rules, the better this system works. The COPS role is to maintain this system for the good of us all. It must be noted that this is only one of the many functions and duties of the COPS. They also work on major crimes, drug and alcohol problem, public safety and security to name a few.

My purpose in this quiz has only one reasonable expectation. If you will consider these questions, perhaps you will at least think more about your driving habits and attitudes on the road.

May the good Lord be with us and with all who share the asphalt.

Jerry C. Martin

Jerry Martin lives in LaCrosse and has been a commercial truck driver for more than 30 years. He is currently a driver with Empire Disposal in Colfax.