Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Driving Ignant

My definition of ignorance is not about what you don‘t know, ignorance is about what you’re not even TRYING to learn. Unfortunately, we all have our own ignorant spots. My wife has made it very clear to me, that whenever I give her driving directions, I should never use the cardinal directions..”I don‘t know where northeast is!! Just tell me if I need to turn left or right??” In similar fashion I would rather drive an extra couple of hours, “Just to see” before conceding and pulling in and asking for directions. Either way, it’s a level of understanding that we’re not trying to delve into. On the Southside, we call it ‘ignant’. It’s that point in the mind where reasoning no longer exists, and when two ignant spots collide?? You have problems:

Ignant Spot #1: I’m running late and although I know this light has turned yellow and I’m more than 3 car lengths away, I’m just going to give it some more gas and speed through under this red light.

Ignant Spot #2 (approaching the same intersection as #1): I come this way everyday..I have these lights timed..I don’t even have to slow down, as soon as I get right up on the light, its going to turn green…

Too often accidents and incidents occur because of lack of awareness rather than malicious intent. Its so easy to get absorbed in our own world's of pressing issues, cell phones, kids in the car and even just plain ole daydreaming, that we lose focus of the road ahead. When you add in the people driving around impaired. Whether they’re drunk ignant, doped up ignant, emotionally wrecked ignant, or just plain, "I'm going to drive REAL close up to the car in front of me and blow my horn real loud, because I'm mad that he cut me off" ignant, and we’ve got a nice big diverse ignant gumbo brewing on the big concrete pot. And to really give it a zesty spice, sprinkle in some of those ’hot’ boys..that like to race through public roads to get their rush and a heaping spoonful of those cars driving the hot streets on bald tires ready to blow out at any moment...and we have a daily deadly recipe.

Everyday, thousands of automobile accidents happen. From the slight fender benders, to spectacular high speed collisions and everything in between. Safe drivers have to have a wary eye on the driving landscape. By constantly being aware of the traffic around our immediate and impending vicinity, we give ourselves and our families the best chance of making it to our destination safely. Both my wife and I have conceded from our ignant spots a bit, now I willingly stop even before we get to the county line and I wait in the car while she goes in and asks which way is north.