Different thought processes

Today I attended a continuing education course in St. Louis and while driving home tonight, I followed a pick up truck that had a refrigerator in the back and it didn’t look securely fastened at all. I always keep a safe distance behind vehicles like that simply because if the large and heavy object falls out, I would rather not have my SUV damaged in the process.

I remembered several times when passengers in my vehicle would make some grandma comment to me about my cautious driving behind load bearing or oversized vehicles. They ALWAYS follow up their remark with something like “well, even if it were to fall out and damage your car, the other driver is responsible you know. You’d end up with a new car.”

Yes, I know this. However, rather than drive closely enough to risk getting involved in an accident, I prefer to stay back and allow myself time to AVOID an accident.

This difference in thought processes fascinates me. I realize that should an object fall off the car in front of me and damage my vehicle, I could hold the other driver accountable. But, I also think about the pain and anxiety involved in 1) the accident itself 2) the headache and inconvenience of being without MY vehicle while the insurance companies and lawyers battle things out and 3) dealing with everything that follows an accident. In most cases, an accident is just that, an accident.

I would rather do what I reasonably could to PREVENT an accident, such as staying a little farther back than I normally would. My initial thought is not “hey, follow that person as closely as I would any other vehicle and if something falls off, at least I’ll get a new, better car!”

Interesting how different thought processes are followed, huh?

March 28th, 2006 Posted by Jessica | Life | one comment