The Arcane and the Obvious

So, yeah...

Two more speeding tickets this year. That's got to put me around 12 for my driving career of two decades, but honestly I've lost count. I don't know how many speeding tickets I've had anymore.

So I need to quit it.

I'm going to try really hard for the next year to stay at or below posted speed limits.

I've developed a lot of really bad habits. I tend to drive in the left lane, and I tend to drive as fast as the car in front of me. Or 10 over. More if I felt I could get away with it.

The last speeding ticket I got, though, was just because I let my car coast down a hill. Tagged at 40 in a 30. I didn't realize I was travelling that fast, honestly. I just was thinking about getting home. And the thing is I was almost there.

So I'm trying a lot harder now to pay attention where I haven't before. I'm trying really hard to not drive like an ass. Like other people are in my way. Like I'm in a hurry.

It's hard to keep myself in check, but I know most people don't feel the need to pass others all the time, so I can learn to ease off a little.

It helps that the dash of my "new" car is full of information. There are two places on my dash that can show average miles per gallon. One place can estimate instant mileage. It's been fun adjusting my habits and challenging myself to keep those numbers as high as possible.

The last thing I want is to be an obstacle. There is a lot of traffic moving well in excess of any speed limit I have ever seen, and it can feel a lot like pressure to move faster.

I'm doing my best to not make it my problem.

I'm trying hard also to be polite about it. I stay right. I will not do the speed limit in the left lane--I'm not oblivious. And I'm starting to get upset when people pass me on the right, although I am famous for that same maneuver.

So yeah, that will actually be me driving the speed limit. It doesn't mean I'm getting old or conservative. It does mean I do not want my license revoked.

Feel free to call me on it. I need the reminders.