We’ve all been in social situations where we gather in a circle and get to know new people for the first time.  Maybe we sit in somebody’s living room in a house we’ve never been to or hover over the cooler out on the back porch.  Regardless, the situation is always the same and typically begins awkwardly, like getting on a bicycle for the first time.

Because we’ve been conditioned to shun the important stuff during introductions (politics or religion? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?), conversations inevitably turn to our personal quirks and preferences.  It is at this point the subject of driving habits arises.  Everybody talks about how fast they go and how ridiculous the speed limit is and who possibly goes the speed limit besides little old ladies with blue hair and fake eyebrows.  Chuckles abound as people marvel at the stupidity of observing posted speed limits.  But with traffic accidents ranking as the 10^th leading cause of death in the world (ahead of diabetes) and claiming the lives of more than a million people every year, I’m immune to the pressure to drive fast.  Is it worth it?

Don’t get me wrong.  We all have the occasional need for speed and I’m not about to sit here and deny putting the pedal to the metal from time to time.  But driving at a slower clip does far more good than bad: better gas mileage, increased reaction time, and you can listen to more of your favorite jams without fear of a fat speeding ticket.  You also detach yourself from the rat race around you and just mellow out for fifteen minutes.    Take a good look at the people who blow your doors off going 90 mph on the freeway.  What are they trying to prove? And if you drive fast, what’s YOUR deal?

Don’t give me that jive about how you can’t bring yourself to go that slow.  Yes, I know instant gratification is the way America rolls.  Just try it out for a week.  And let me know how it goes.

Clearly, I don’t have the rights to this photo.