Maybe ‘student driver’ signs will make other motorists nicer to me?
When I was 16, I flunked driver’s training after I swerved off the road to avoid hitting a turtle.
It all happened so fast. Thankfully no one was injured. To this day, I maintain the turtle – who also survived unscathed – ran out in front of me.
“He was wearing little red Nikes!” I told my driver’s training instructor, Mr. Price, when we returned to the high school.
I can’t print what he told me back.
Two years later, when I finally took my driver’s license exam at the Department of Motor Vehicles, a friend of a friend administered the test.
“If anyone will pass you, Dave will,” my BFF Lydia assured me at the time. “He plays in a band on Friday nights and he’s half asleep on Saturday mornings.”
That particular Saturday, Dave didn’t ask me to parallel park – which was good, because I still have trouble doing that today.
I also have trouble with other motorists honking at me and shaking their fists when they pass me on the road. Am I a perfect driver? No. Am I a bad driver? I have seen worse.
I saw much worse when a car sporting a “Student Driver” banner pulled out front of me on Illinois 159 a few weeks ago. I slammed on my breaks and gave the vehicle a wide berth. I wasn’t angry. I was feeling nostalgic. Who doesn’t remember their time as a new driver? And who doesn’t wish a new driver all the best?
A few minutes later, when someone pulled up alongside me at a light and shook their fist, I decided to order a couple “Warning: Student Driver” placards for my car.
“It’s an experiment to see if other motorists treat me with more kindness,” I told my husband, when he saw the signs in my Volvo’s back window.
“Do people really yell things at you on the road?” he asked, incredulously.
“They don’t yell things. They mouth things, usually with their eyes bugging out.”
Hey, don’t ask if you don’t want to know.
It’s only been a couple weeks but I do think road rage aimed in my direction may be down. One woman approached me in a parking lot, thinking the signs read “Baby on Board.” Another man, passing me on the road, smiled and gave me a wave.
I also have noticed fewer people tailgating me since I put up the signs. And since suction-cupping them to my car windows, I find myself driving more carefully.
“You know, those signs are kind of small,” my sister, Melanie mused the other day. “Maybe you should get a really big roof topper like they put on the pizza-delivery trucks.”
I looked them up on Amazon – $145 complete with LED lights.
Guess what I’m getting for Mother’s Day?
