Fun on the Roads

If you have children, and have taken them on holiday in the car, you will have experienced the endless fun in keeping them amused. (I am talking “pre-videos and computer games in the back of the car” days. Why can’t today’s parents suffer like we did?)

But consider the poor driver, who has nothing to keep him amused, except the sound of a Bee Gees track (Beatles, if you are over 70) or the sound of the commentary of the cricket test match as Australia pile on another 500 run innings. (My son tells me that this does not happen as often now, but I will not let this deflect me from my point.)

I have therefore come up with a list of ways in which drivers can amuse themselves and test their skills and those of other drivers.

My favourite is to come up behind a car on a motorway, pull out and overtake and when two yards in front, pull in and take the foot off the accelerator. The driver being overtaken enjoys the chance to test his reactions and adjust his speed.

A variation on this amusing little tactic is to overtake, pull in and then pull out again immediately in front of the next car coming up the outside lane. This apparently pointless manoeuvre is good for preventing the car in the outside lane from going too fast and thus perhaps exceeding the speed limit, which, if course, is illegal and the overtaking driver will thank you for this.

Even better than this is to actually drive in the outside lane, just below the speed limit. I believe that it is every civic minded citizen’s duty to do this, to protect his fellowmen (or women) from committing a potentially illegal act.

One of my favourite “About Town: Let’s keep them Guessing” games, is not to signal at all when going around a roundabout. You can add to the fun by faking a turn off, and then carrying on around the roundabout, thereby testing the emergency stopping ability of drivers coming in.

Sometimes you need to be the “Good Samaritan”. If it is dark and the passenger in the car in front is trying to read, then you should come up as close as possible behind and shine the full headlights through his rear window. If your lights are badly adjusted, then this is even better. This is generally well appreciated by both driver and passenger alike.

There are many other such games to stretch driving skills. Readers of this blog will have their own ideas. Let’s see if we can develop something around driving while at the same time using a mobile phone, sending SMS messages, lighting a cigarette, eating a Chinese Takeaway or reading a novel. Should there be extra points for doing two or more at the same time?