Opus 2026-174: On the Street: Reflections of Driving Style

I wonder how a person’s personality is revealed in their driving style.

I know that usually what we are experiencing at the moment stands out to us as being unusual.  Having said that, it seems to me that quite frequently when people are very quick to pull out in front of me as I’m driving down the road they end up being afraid to drive the speed limit once they’re in place.  I know you’ve had the experience.  You’re driving along in a 55 mile an hour zone, the road is clear in front of you.  A car pulls up to the cross street.  Instead of waiting for you to go by even though there’s no one behind you, they will immediately pull out in front of you as if they’re in a hurry to get to the hospital.  You jam on your brakes.  You slow down.  You watch to see if they will accelerate so you can keep moving, but alas and lack, they don’t seem to realize it’s a 55 mile an hour zone.  So they cruise along at 45 maybe 50 if they’re in a good mood.

Now I wonder if there is a sense of arrogance and self-centeredness, which is at work here or it just that they are day dreaming.  They’re very willing to pull out in front of you because they seem to think they’re more important than you are.  Then they’re very willing to drive very slow because that’s the speed they want to drive that and they wouldn’t care less if there’s anybody behind them.  Does this reflect itself in their personal relationships?

I wonder if these are the people who take up two parking spaces so their car doesn’t get scratched.  I wonder if they’re the ones who idle blocking traffic in the parking lot waiting for someone to come out and get in their car and move it so that they don’t have to walk very far.  I wonder if they are the ones who pull up in front of the entrance to the grocery store and sit there idling until someone eventually comes out.  Or extend that to the airport where they stopped in the Loading Zone Only and wait for the person to get off the plane and come out.  They could be the one who takes a full shopping cart into the 10 items or less aisle at the grocery store.  There are many applications in this personality type.

They might be the nicest person you ever met, I have no way of knowing.  Or they could be one of the most self-centered people that you’ve ever experienced.  Maybe we need a scientific study for this.  Anybody want to write a grant? 

homo unius libri