Speed

What’s the rush? Where are you going in traffic that you have to go twenty or thirty miles an hour over the speed limit? Don’t you realize you end up at the same stoplight as all those people you passed so recklessly? Is it just the perception of advancement that you relish, the feeling of going somewhere when you’re really not?

I’m bad about driving the speed limit. Part of it stems from a recognition that traffic is controlled through traffic lights and speed limits. Going the speed limit means you don’t have to wait as long at a light, don’t have to go through the speed-up, slow down waves of regular traffic patterns. It saves on gas because you’re not trying to push your vehicle as fast or as quickly. The biggest expenditure on gas is accelerating. That’s why there’s a difference in gas consumption between city and highway miles. On the highway you keep a speed and not constant bouts of acceleration.

Perhaps it’s impatience? A feeling of wanting to get ahead? Some deep-seated need to be first, to win in what is essentially a stream and not a race?

I can’t possibly hope to understand it. I know I drove a bit faster when I was younger. Maybe that’s it. A need to feel you’re going somewhere and doing something, something important. Maybe it has to do with schedules, with needing to be on time and constantly failing and running late. Maybe it’s a form of anarchy, a way to stick it to the man for forcing you into a certain speed when every car on the road is obviously capable of doing so much more. Maybe it stems from a lack of respect and empathy, an inability to understand that you’re endangering the lives of others with your actions. Hell, maybe people just don’t give a shit.

Perhaps it has something to do with the car. I’ve only ever driven family sedans. My first car didn’t even have a hundred horsepower. Maybe having a car capable of racing down the road, of accelerating with incredible speed, of giving you the feeling of immense power and capability, maybe that’s what it is. I really don’t know.

Maybe one night I’ll push my car as far as it’ll go. See how fast it can go, what it’s really capable of, what I’m missing. For now, I’ll be doing the speed limit and driving the rest of you crazy.