Yeah, I dusted off my copy of the Nitpicker's Notebook about something that everyone that drives should find disturbing, if not downright pathetic. So buckle up...you might learn something.
When it comes to automobiles, there are those of us that really do pay attention while we're driving. We're NOT on the cellphone, or eating, reading, screaming at the kids, singing along with the CD, applying makeup (definitely NOT me), or doing something OTHER than driving. We're watching the road ahead, behind, and alongside us. We're paying attention to traffic signals and patterns, and we're watching other drivers and what they're doing. We're listening to the sounds the car is making, and know what sounds the car should NOT make. If we notice a bulb burned out, we replace it...no big deal. If we notice a soft tire, we check for leaks, rather than continue to drive on it, and either have it plugged or replaced.
We keep the fluid levels up. We change the wipers when they stop performing their designed task. We like to keep the vehicle looking nice, because it usually cost us a nice piece of our paychecks and bank accounts (the 2nd highest outlaying of money next to your house). We also make sure the insurance is current, and that we have adequate coverage so some drunked-up buttwipe doesn't turn us into a pedestrian OR a statistic. We can't cover EVERY eventuality, but we at least try to. And there will always be the "unforeseen" instance, waiting to spring at us.
All we can do is try and avoid that as best we can, and having a vehicle that is properly maintained is a damn good start.
My Dad always said: "If you take care of your car, it will take care of you". And those are good words to put into practice. He also said that: "Driving is your SECOND job".
Now here in Indiana, I've noticed that a lot of people don't really care about the car, truck, or SUV they drive.
And how do I know this? Simple.
Look at the vehicle as they drive past. Notice the cornucopia of dents, dings, and crumpled sheet metal? Check out the amount of rust. How about the burned out headlight? Does that broken tail lamp lens just make you all warm and fuzzy when it comes to Hoosier car care?
Sorry, but red cellophane tape does NOT a tail lamp lens make.
For example, In my neighborhood on ANY given night, I can see AT LEAST 50+ vehicles with NO (functional) LICENSE PLATE BULB. That's right...that plate is darker than most Stephen King novels, which gives the FWPD about 6 kinds of angst. They have admitted to me that they have trouble reading them when it's light out. And although about 80% of these (mostly POS) vehicles are driven by blacks, every other ethnicity IS non-exempt from the mix. I thought it was a "cultural" thing (as most societal aberrations I've seen here appear to be), but it's apparently not.
People in general just don't care.
Now call me crazy, but when it's still DARK out, doesn't the road look a tad "ill-lit" when the headlights aren't functioning? Try it sometime. As you approach your house, turn OFF the lights, and tell me you can see AS WELL (if not better) than when they were ON. Yet people around HERE thinks it's "all good" (hell, they think burglary and drugs are as well...what's that tell you?), and do it day after day. Same goes for the license plate bulb, which (by law) is REQUIRED vehicle illumination (as are headlights...DUH).
The plate bulbs don't cost THAT much (less than $2 at ANY auto store or K-Mart, and a HELLUVA lot less than replacing the front end of paying a ticket!), so it can't be a question of PRICE. And when you see NEW vehicles that don't have that bulb working, don't try to jive me into thinking it's a "manufacturer's defect". That dog won't hunt for me. I have a car almost TWENTY-FIVE years old, and have NEVER replaced that bulb (and it still works fine). My wife's car is ELEVEN years old, and HER bulb works fine. But it must be a "white" thing. Well that, and we give a shit about not being stopped for something stupid like a bad bulb.
So what's up with all this?
Easy...people are pulling the bulb (or just interrupting the circuit)...on purpose. Reason being is they DO NOT want to be easily ID'ed when they come thumping down the street, or making a drug buy out front, or when they're speeding down a city block. Makes a great case from bringing BACK mandatory VEHICLE INSPECTIONS when you re-register your vehicle yearly...doesn't it? Now that's a small price to pay for being able to safely journey from *A* to *B*, right?
Easy...people are pulling the bulb (or just interrupting the circuit)...on purpose. Reason being is they DO NOT want to be easily ID'ed when they come thumping down the street, or making a drug buy out front, or when they're speeding down a city block. Makes a great case from bringing BACK mandatory VEHICLE INSPECTIONS when you re-register your vehicle yearly...doesn't it? Now that's a small price to pay for being able to safely journey from *A* to *B*, right?
Funny thing about all this, is that the FWPD doesn't seem to be as proactive trying to call attention to this problem. Sure, they will get the occasional traffic stop (and Sgt. Bonar gets HIS grants to set up checkpoints all up NORTH), but with ALL the vehicles with inoperable lighting, there is a veritable GOLD MINE to be had on the SOUTH side of town, should they avail themselves of it. I'm sure they look the other way when it comes to the black community, citing the fact that they would be unjustly called to task for pulling over ALL these black people because they are BLACK (when they are just stupid, but happen to BE black). But that's a whole OTHER post for another day.
I've been trying for years to get the FWPD to nail these people that practice unsafe driving skills, and I don't think I'm being all that unreasonable. Considering the cost of repair, the cost of insurance, or even the cost of a vehicle, we are talking some serious change here, and that's money I don't want to HAVE to lay out (in ever-increasing amounts) due to another person's inattention to THEIR vehicle's needs. Safety is for EVERYONE, and those not wishing to ante up their fair share to ensure that safety should NOT be driving anything in the first place. With their apparent lack of concern behind the wheel, they'd better serve the community by taking the bus (better yet...take a long walk off a short dock).
Don't leave it all to the mechanic....he's not driving your car nearly as much as YOU are, is he? Take a few moments, walk around your vehicle, check things out, and ask yourself if you're doing everything to make sure YOU are promoting safety on the streets and roads that you travel.
And if not...why not?
It's not only YOUR life at risk...it's everyone else that shares the road with you.
2 comments:
I agree!
And if there's one thing that my father can't stand, it's someone who is too lazy to take care of their vehicle. He'll go out of his way to make sure that his family and friends' vehicles are safe too.
He ALWAYS checks out my and David's car whenever we come and visit, whether we ask him to or not.
Last Christmas he paid out of his own pocket to get ALL FOUR of the tires on our last car replaced (about $150-$200) because he was worried that they wouldn't have lasted the drive back up here. It wasn't that we were too lazy to get them replaced, it was that we didn't have the money to replace them.
He fixes other people's cars for WAAAY cheaper than what a regular mechanic would too. When we lived in GA, a friend of his was having a problem with his car. He took it to a mechanic, who was going to charge him about $800 to rebuild his engine or something like that. He took the car to our house, my dad crawled under it and found out the problem: a screw or something similar was loose and that was why the car's engine was making a noise!
The mechanic was going to rebuild the guy's engine over a loose screw and charge the guy $800!
Wow, I went off tangent with the lazy thing, but it's sorta related...
Not really off topic....there ARE people out there that are willing to help people that way. It's not a "lazy" thing...people don't always have the money but KNOW they need the car fixed.
The rest ARE lazy and don't care, and that's why we have the problems we do.
We need cars that TELL people when to change the oil...like remembering that EVERY 2000 MILES is that difficult to recall.
Da-da-daaaaaaaa - (ala Mencia)
Converesely, there are "mechanics" who are young enough to be my kid with a lot less expertise than in days past. They go by the book and are more "puter geeks" than wrench-turning techs from MY era.
You want a good mechanic? Find one that is older, wiser, more savvy, and will NOT take you to the cleaners in the process.
B.G.
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