But I Like Driving!

I don’t ever want a ‘Self Driving’ car.

What’s the use of driving if you aren’t actually driving?? If you would like an automated car so you don’t have to do any of the work, then get yourself a chauffeur. I would happily be anyone’s chauffeur if I was paid very well.

I have loved driving even before I drove a car. My sister was in the hospital when she was very young, and my grandfather would pick me and my brothers up from school and drive us to MacDonald’s for lunch. He drove a big Ford Brougham Ltd, and the seats were so cushy and comfortable. His cigar smoke would hang in the air as I turned green from the smell of it. I was around ten years old at the time. I would tell my friends at school that I was going to be picked up by a limousine, just to make me sound cool. Of course they would call me out on it and shout, ‘That’s not a limo! My grandpa drives one of those Ford’s too!’

Once, my grandfather drove my brothers and I to a place called Independence Damn in Defiance Ohio, along the Maumee River. It was a long drive, but I loved it. I would watch all the farm fields passing by and the straight rows of corn seemed like an optical illusion fluttering by, but the smell of the pig farms I could’ve done without. It seemed to take forever to get to our destination. But the car was so smooth, it was like driving on a big pillow.

It seems to always take longer to get to your destination than it does to arrive back home.

It’s always nice when you are in a vehicle and the driver is someone whom you can trust. On long drives you can drift off to sleep knowing that you are safe. My wife has said that I could start a business where people with sleep issues can be driven by me so that they can sleep. I just love driving!

When approaching a red light, I try to stop the car without any jarring to a complete stop. It’s a skill that I have worked on since my early driving years. When I took lessons, my instructor thought that I was such a good driver that he asked me to pull into a MacDonald’s and bought me some fries and a coke. Funny thing though, when I turned at the light he slammed on his breaks and stopped me from colliding into another approaching car! What can I say, I had the thought of fries on my mind!

I love driving and will go on long drives just to cruise. I’m a cruiser, not a racer. I too, can have road rage festering inside of me because of other drivers stupid antics on the road. I know this can annoy my family as I grumble about another driver. I try to keep it internal but I’m human just like you. I think it’s funny when another person is driving me in their car and they think I am judging their driving and then tell me that they usually aren’t that bad of a driver.

My brother Joe was driving me and my brother Ed to a pick up football game around Thanksgiving. He lived on the west side of Cleveland and the game was on the east side. We ended up driving in a complete snow storm because of the lake effect snows off Lake Erie. Traveling down the highway during a snow storm can be treacherous to say the least. My brothers driving was even more so. I think he went to pass a car, which he shouldn’t have, and he made the car turn sideways at top speed, down the highway, in a snow storm!! Out of my passenger seat in the back I was staring at the cars following us out my door window, and if I looked out the front window I would see buildings off the highway as we slid down the road, SIDEWAYS!!

None the less, I still love driving. Most of the time while I drive, I drive in silence. It’s just a thing I do. I don’t mind listening to music sometimes and I like listening to my favorite pod casts when I feel like it. I might have to write an article about my favorite pod casts in the future.

I love driving in the spring time with my windows down. Here in Australia it gets bloody hot and I need to take advantage of the spring time weather, otherwise I have to have my AC on or I might melt. When I was at university in Iowa I drove a black Honda Civic and it didn’t have AC. I drove 5 minutes into town to get a sub, I had my windows down because it was so hot, and when I got out of the car I have a sweat stain on my shirt in the shape of my seat belt. I never had AC in any of the cars I drove in the U.S. It wasn’t until I moved to New Zealand that I drove a car with AC and you really don’t need AC in a car in New Zealand.

I love driving my Hyundai Tucson. I tell my family how much I love it every time they drive with me. I’m a proud Hyundai owner. I’m thinking of calling my car ‘Hi Ho Silver’ and shouting “Away!!” every time I start driving it. I know that’s weird, but that’s the way I roll.

I’m getting hungry now. I think I’ll drive across town to get me a Philly steak and cheese sub. Mmm, I haven’t had one of those in a long while. No one outside of the USA does food like the USA. They may try, but it’s just not the same, but P J Steaks is as close as I will get.

So, anywho, I hope you enjoy driving as much as me. I don’t know why anyone would want to create a driver-less car. If you don’t like driving, or are drunk a lot, get and taxi or a bus and let someone who enjoys driving drive. Once again, I’m putting this out there, if anyone living in Brisbane that would need a chauffeur and would happily pay me extremely well, leave a note in the comments! I would make your ride experience pleasurable and safe. I might even drive you to sleep.