Hazards On, Hazards Off

Hazards On, Hazards Off

Click. The hazards came on in the car. Click, they back went off. On.
Off. On. Off. Though, maybe, they should have stayed on. I wasn’t
driving safely, after all.

The previous years has seen my brother and I driving together. My
brother liked to have fun, be adventurous, and driving made no
difference. He was all fun and no rules. I braced myself as soon as
his seatbelt clicked into place. But eventually, it would become my
turn to drive. When my brother left, his car became mine, and I was
determined to be a better driver than him.

But then, my brother slid into the passenger seat, and chaos erupted.
As I was driving down a dark, vacant road, I heard a click, followed
by a steady beeping sound. He turned on my hazard lights. Not needing
them, I reached up and turned them off. At this point, to my unruly
passenger, this became a game. He turned them on again, I reached
over and turned them off. On. Off. I covered the button with my hand.
He put the heat on full blast. I fixed the heat and…. he turned on
my hazards. I became extremely frustrated. Luckily, most of this
occurred at a red light or an empty street. He wouldn’t dare
distract me around cars or pedestrians. Until, I came to a four-way
stop. Here, it was all too common that the stop signs would be ran,
and people’s right of way would be violated. So, when approaching,
it was imperative that I pay attention to other cars. As I began to
slow to a gentle stop while a car crossed my path, my brother
whispered something from the other side of the car “Nice and easy,
come to a full stop.” As I was already planning to do it so, I kept
my eyes on the intersection. Until, the car lurched to an abrupt
stop. The car, it seemed, had been put in park. Not drive. Park. And
it wasn’t because of me. As laughter erupted from the other side of
the car, a pair of headlights shined bright in my rear-view mirror; a
car was fast approaching from behind. I threw the car in drive, went
home, and promptly kicked my brother out of the car. I haven’t
driven him since.

But maybe I should have kept the hazard lights on. I was a distracted
driver. I took my eyes away from a poorly lighted street to pay
attention to someone else. I repeatedly drifted into the center lane
and focused on fixing whatever he had messed with. In a way, it was
as bad as someone texting and driving. I was still distracted! Not
paying attention could have spelled disaster. Which is why it matters
that everyone in a car,
driving or not, isn’t creating obstacles for others on the road.
So, turn down the radio, check your mirrors, and passengers- don’t
distract your driver!