http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2010/october/22/more_killed_on_kents_roads.aspx
Ok, so the guy from Roadpeace (who I'm an avid supporter of) has mentioned motorists need to be more patient when on the road. I'm sorry to be a killjoy to such simplicity but this is just not going to happen. Looking up the meaning of impatience, bluntly, I had a good laugh (particularly when visualising the Great British Public trying out the remedies). Here's a few definitions to enlighten you:
"..,A tendency to be impatient is considered a major personality flaw. People who suffer from severe impatience are often considered to be arrogant, insensitive, and overbearing..." http://www.essortment.com/all/whatispatience_rynl.htm
"...im·pa·tience
[im-pey-shuhns]
–noun
1. lack of patience.
2. eager desire for relief or change; restlessness.
3. intolerance of anything that thwarts, delays, or hinders..." http://www.humanityquest.com/topic/Definitions/index.asp?theme1=impatience
"...Impatience is selfishness..." http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/129336
"...What is impatience? It is the frustration, anger, and resentment you feel when you’re not able to control a situation to your liking..."
http://lifelearningtoday.com/2007/08/17/impatience-release-your-grip/
"...Impatience is the inability to wait or persevere calmly, without anger, dejection or defeatism, or irrational action..."
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_meaning_of_impatience
Well, what a mixed bag of negative human emotion that is. 2 million years ago (maybe more/less, believe it or not, I wasn't there, so gimme a break) there was nothing like this to 'help us improve'. We just got on with it. Can you imagine a caveman self-examining his emotions whilst he's pulling the wifey along the ground by her hair? She's having to be patient whilst he gets to a suitable bit of ground to ravage her on; he's having to be patient whilst she loses sufficient consciousness from the throws of his bashing tool and the hairy mammoth hiding behind that bush over there is having to be patient before he tramples them both.
Recently and more realistically, over the past 100+ years, our brave soldiers have had to be very patient with all the jobs they're doing. If they don't, they risk their life, the lives of their team mates and ruin the planned missions designed to protect and improve the lives of many others. http://www.poppy.org.uk/
Impatience is one of those many human traits which has simply slipped due to lifestyle and choice. Why should we have to wait whilst someone of a lesser intelligence, importance or less able, does their thing? Stop right there. The simple explanation for this is people have no self control these days. They have when it suits them but when it comes to others, no. Lack of patience (in my opinion) is a result of lack of discipline, order, empathy and increasing mass selfishness in the society in which we live.
When I have a person learning to drive (whatever age) in my car, one of the main reasons they can't concentrate is because they fear licensed drivers (or unlicensed/uninsured drivers in many cases). Therefore, having interpreted the negative behaviour, ie, facial expressions, hand gestures, tailgating, risky overtaking (thus breaking the speed limit), it puts them off which makes them more likely to make a mistake hence fueling the impatience 'bucket' of the driver who created the situation in the first place. Yes, it's your fault!! People seem to forget they were learners once; a bit like the pain of having a baby or the pain of England losing the World Cup AGAIN.
Some licensed drivers are unaware how dangerous some of their driving decisions are even though they've had many years of experience on the road. It's down to all sorts; including fear, lack of knowledge or attention, late choices and varying levels of confidence.
Where there's no balance; there is hazard (the buzz word used in driving these days for a situation that puts you in some kind of risk or danger because you either have to change direction or speed). I am constantly aware the worst is going to happen with other roadusers. Being a driver who's got advanced training and knowledge (which I debate, should be standard training for all drivers these days), I look for things happening before they actually do - which is all the time. That requires a lot of concentration. That's in addition to calming down a trainee driver that you've just given the hee-bee-gee-bees to because you had a bad day. Nice. Thanks. You don't care. Oh well, let's hope you don't need me or any other nice person to phone 999 for you one day and be a witness to your RTC that's made you paralysed then. That's how strongly I feel. Why should I? You're someone else's problem not mine.
Like many roadusers, my duty of care is too positively ingrained for me to act as selfishly as you would - so you're lucky if it does happen because I would help you. However, I would also give a very detailed witness account to the Police of how you managed to get yourself into trouble and the manner in which you were driving half an hour previous to your RTC. Do you remember the bit when you cut us up, having undertook at 90mph on the A21 yesterday when we were doing 70mph because you weren't patient enough to wait for my trainee driver to come back into Lane 1 again?
That's a potential collision speed of 160mph. How did you know your tyre wasn't going to blow out at that very moment? Have you checked them lately? No, purely from your driving ability, I can see your conscience wouldn't stretch as far to ensure your vehicle was actually roadworthy.
Mousemeat - all of us, including the vehicles travelling behind and in front and perhaps over the central reservation. Vehicles colliding at that speed don't just stop; nor do the bodies that fly out the windows because they haven't got a seatbelt on - like yours. They keep moving.
Someone has to clear up the mess you've made, when it needn't have happened in the first place.
Consequences of impatience.
http://www.roadpeace.org/
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