Apparently, April is National Car Care Month. We're not quite sure who came up with this inane designation, but regardless, this month is as good as any to pay a little closer attention to your auto.
With gas prices creeping back up toward $3 per gallon, car owners should be sure to give their vehicles every opportunity to use fuel efficiently. The Car Care Council recommends checking your tire pressure, cleaning the air filter and replacing spark plugs, all of which can help conserve gasoline. Also, don't forget to give your car a nice, thorough cleaning, inside and out; hauling around those 40-pound sandbags left over from winter can really eat up gas mileage, not to mention the 15 pounds of dirt and grime many cars are carrying on their exteriors.
Once you have the car adjusted and ready for summer driving, take a moment to prepare yourself. A national survey, conducted by Response Insurance, found 98 percent of those on the road are fearful of their fellow drivers, and nearly two in five adults have experienced road rage in the past six months. The same survey also found drivers with children are more likely to engage in road rage than those without. Why is everyone so angry?
Maybe they're enraged by other drivers. The same survey found more than 75 percent of all drivers regularly participate in distracting behavior, such as tuning the radio (62 percent), eating (57 percent) and turning around to speak (56 percent). Some people even partake in ridiculously dangerous activities like steering without hands (20 percent), cleaning the windshield (23 percent) and applying eye drops or contact lenses (3 percent).
Clearly, the road is a dangerous place to be. But besides the inherent threat of bodily harm, there are plenty of things that tick us off. Take litterbugs, for example. There is nothing more disgusting than drivers and passengers chucking trash out their windows into the grassy ditches. What is wrong with these people? Can't they tell the difference between a landfill and a prairie? Why must they make their mess everyone's eyesore?
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People that don't use turn signals also annoy us. Utilizing turn signals is not only courteous, it's smart. The same Response Insurance study states 57 percent of American drivers don't use turn signals when changing lanes; 42 percent of those people say they don't have enough time. If you think you don't have enough time to click a turn signal, wait until your license is revoked for reckless driving and you have to spend an entire afternoon at the DMV. Then you'll wish you'd found the .25 seconds it takes to push down that signal lever.
One habit in particular bothers us Park Rapids natives, especially when summer tourists hit the town: not paying attention to traffic. We understand there are a lot of fun things to see around town, but please, while you're driving, keep your eyes on the road. Watch for pedestrians. Look out for people cutting into the flow of traffic ahead of you. And please, for the sake of the 25 cars in line behind you, make sure you watch for the left turn arrow at busy intersections! Hesitating even five seconds not only gums up traffic, but makes you a lot of new enemies.
Driving, like everything else, requires cooperation. If we all work together and use common sense, the road can be a safer, friendlier place. There will always be a few bad apples among us, but make sure you're not the one breaking the rules and creating stress for your fellow drivers. After all, if you fail to properly observe National Car Care Month, you may find yourself grudgingly celebrating National Bike Month in May.
