As my little "hook" to this little bit of theorizing, I shall remind readers of our mixed opinion on the Beige Toyota Camry. We'd kicked the Camry around a bit, and even voted it the Most Boring Car Ever, although one of our number sought to defend its honor. We have even, somewhat perversely, come to a grudging respect for its sheer indomitable will to live despite our loathing indifference.
We have also, on occasion, evinced some disgust for certain models, and -- let's be honest -- the people who drive them. We have bemoaned the utter banality with which the 1969 Camaro is held in such high regard by so many, such that you can't swing a dead torsion bar at an average car show without hitting at least a dozen. For myself, I have even written a missive attempting to articulate my disgust for a certain yuppie-mobile which, as I admit in that post, is due in part to my own hangups toward a certain segment of the population.
But ever since then I've had cause to contemplate the following question: Who are the best drivers? I daresay most of us would answer "Why, I am, of course". Which I -- of course -- immediately thought of when I pondered the issue.
Frankly, I'm wrong. I'm not the best of drivers. Neither are the guys in their European Sport Sedans blasting along in the fast lane, or the guys in the hopped-up ricers switching lanes every 1000 feet to get to Point B ahead of whoever they happen to be trying to get there ahead of. Certainly not the guy pretending to be on the racing circuit, coming up to within spitting distance of your back bumper and flashing his/her lights if you don't move over within 9 milliseconds of his/her being there. Nor is it the one who can do a J-turn with ease. Or scream into a parking space sideways (despite how cool it is).
Well, okay, maybe those last two have some non-day-to-day Best Driver applicability. . . .
No, after wondering about the question for a while I came to a decision: It's the people you never even notice. Not the ones puttering along in the slow lane going 5 miles under the speed limit; you notice them and they can be a hazard if you're not paying attention. Not the ones who wait to turn left until there is at least a block between oncoming cars, or who turn on their turn signals three blocks before they actually turn. No, I'm talking about those who probably drive a near-pristine Beige Camry, drive within a few miles of the speed limit, always use their turn signals, stay in the right hand lane except to pass, can execute a parallel park on the first try, and never get speeding tickets or get in accidents that are their fault. They treat driving as transportation to get them where they need to be safely, but without fuss or muss.
Yes? No? Feel free to discuss, and anything else that comes to mind.
Credit: The Beige Camry is from our earlier post.
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