Weekend Assignment #232: How's My Driving?

Let's jump in the car and buckle up for this next one. It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Weekend Assignment #232: It's been said that as many as 80% of people who drive consider themselves to be "above average" drivers. Since this is statistically impossible, some of us are clearly overestimating ourselves. Be honest: how are your driving skills? If you drive, what are your strengths and weaknesses? If you don't drive, what drives your decision not to do it?

Extra Credit: Did you pass your driver's test on the first try?

Okay, maybe I shouldn't drive and take video simultaneously.

I'd have to say that as for myself, I'm just average. My husband would probably rate me a bit below that because of the number of accidents I've been in, but nearly all of those were someone else's fault. No, really, they were!

I swear it was the kid's fault, not mine! March 2005

For example, there's the time in March 2005 when an 18-year-old in a 1965 Ford truck turned left across 22nd Street right in front of me, headed for his birthday dinner at Casa Molina. My poor Saturn was totaled. All I was doing was driving, and when he cut across three lanes of traffic I had nowhere to go and no time to do it.

But no, I'm not the world's greatest driver. I've had my share of speeding tickets, albeit not in the last ten years or so. I was once pulled over for forgetting to turn on my headlights after church on Ash Wednesday. I'm a little night blind, I have problems with glare (although my new glasses supposedly fix that), and I occasionally get nervous when a driver is pacing me or a certain person is riding in the car with me. On the other hand, I'm a courteous driver. I use my turn signals properly, I try not to cut people off, I never tailgate, and I don't run red lights or stop signs.

For the extra credit, I will disclose that in New York State I passed the written easily (the test was notoriously easy), and failed the practical, partly because I couldn't tell whether an unfamiliar traffic light in Oran, NY was even lit. Then in Florida, which had a notoriously hard written test, I failed the written on the first try, but had no problem driving around the cones in the parking lot.

Your turn! Tell us about your driving skills, or lack theerof. Don't forget to link back here in the entry, and to leave a link to the entry in the comments below. I'll be back late Thursday night to post the results. Have a great week!

Karen