I will admit it: sometimes I drive like an old man.
I try to follow the speed limit and obey the rules of the road. I am courteous to other drivers and let them pull in front of me when there is a line or if they are trying to get over. Most importantly, I use my turn signal to indicate my intentions, which seems to becoming a lost art nowadays.
Being a conscientious driver, one of the biggest challenges for me was getting used to the way people drive in southern Illinois, especially Carbondale.
I'm not sure if southern Illinois has different traffic laws than the rest of the state, but it sure seems that way.
Anytime I get south of Champaign/Urbana, the speed limit, although marked 65, somehow implicitly becomes 80. With some drivers, it is almost like driving on the Auto Bonne in Germany where there is no limit.
The same is true when you get on Route 13 in Marion. People drive that road like they are still on the interstate.
Is the posted 55 limit a suggestion? It compares favorably with a drag race, although the drivers can - and frequently do - change lanes to beat you to the next stoplight a quarter of a mile up the road.
The madness does not stop once you actually arrive in Carbondale; it gets worse.
I have found that people in Carbondale drive as if they are competing in the Brickyard 500. At four-way stops, people dart off the line as quickly as possible, often ignoring the rules of the road and yielding to the right.
Drivers are fond of what I like to call the "piggyback approach," a maneuver in which the driver follows the car in front heading the same direction.
Some folks are in such a hurry here but I have never understood why.
Driving like an idiot and turning driving through Carbondale into the total NASCAR experience saves you what, like one minute, thirty-eight seconds in your trip from Wal-Mart back home?
Some of the dangerous areas I have found are anywhere near the tracks, the four-way stop on Grand Avenue and Lewis Lane and the University & College intersection, just to name a few.
Crosswalks ultimately could be the most dangerous areas for people to use as a result of the "Speedy Gonzales"-like driving habits of most drivers in the area.
I have seen students almost get hit in the Recreation Center crosswalk on an almost weekly basis.
The rest of the campus isn't safe either, as this has been a big problem over the past few years.
In a town as small as Carbondale, it does not take very long to get anywhere.
The city itself is only about 12 square miles large so getting from point A to point B should not take very long. Next time you hop into the car, relax, chill out and slow down for crying out loud, or else you could land yourself in some trouble.
I mean who actually wants to hit a pedestrian, get into a fender-bender or get a ticket?
Not me.
That is why I drive like an old man.
Fruth is a graduate student in Curriculum & Instruction.
