A Good Year for the Outlaw

There are lots of cars that you see on the road and say to yourself, “need to stay away from that one” or “got to get in front of that one real quick”. People ask me why I pass so often, particularly on two-lane roads. A lot of it has to do with more than just driving at a speed which is comfortable for me. It has to do with being safe. I’d much rather be in FRONT of a rambling wreck, or a driver that is obviously not paying attention, than behind them. So I pass them.

When people pull out in front of me on a two lane road and go 54, 55, or even 57 MPH, I might hurry and pass them, even if I’m also only doing 55-57, because I’d rather be in front of them when a wheel flies off, or when they hit the shoulder while applying makeup or lighting up a cigarette, and then overcorrect when they swerve back on the road.

So this afternoon, driving to Chillicothe to watch their Homecoming Parade, I saw one of those cars that I recommend you always be in front of: The Space Saver Spare Car. When car companies downsized vehicles in the 80’s, they came up with the “space saver” spare tire, you know the one, it’s little and allows the trunk to hold more. Right on those tires, in the car’s manual, and in the trunk where it’s stored you see the warnings about space savers: “NOT RECOMMENDED FOR OVER 45 MPH”.  They also recommend it’s use as simply temporary, like use it to get to the service station and fix your regular tire, and then take it off.

Well, today, the dude driving the full-size 90’s era Olds with the space saver on the right front (a drive wheel, to boot) decided that it was okay to cruise to Chilli in this vehicle with this space saver, and it appears it wasn’t the first trip the space saver had made, judging by the rim having the same amount of dirt and grime on it as the other three rims. Oh, and did I mention he decided to do this at 60-65 MPH?

I was doing my usual 61 MPH around Mossville (posted speed of 55, and 61 gets you blown off the road regularly) and Olds Dude pulls up next to me on the left, car not tracking too well, (moving back and forth in it’s lane, likely due to the space saver saying “whoa, dude, that’s too fast for me!!!”) and he’s following the guy in front of him too closely as well. Rather than stay behind him, and with cars right behind me, I increase speed to get in front of him (the safe place to be).

I fortunately stayed in front of him the rest of the trip, but kept an eye on the mirror as he darted back and forth between lanes looking for “the quickest way”. All the while, endangering not only himself but every other car on the road around and BEHIND him.

Just another vehicle to avoid when driving, and in this case, the safest place to be? In front.