Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
( who will guard the guardians? )
I just have to tell you what I saw on the freeway today. Integrity seems to have gone right down the old flushing toilet these days.
Morning commuter traffic. I'm passing a dark green small Chevrolet. Just a few miles an hour faster than their pace. Plenty of time to scope out the driver. The woman's actually pretty attractive. She's of a petite build. Long black hair looks freshly washed and shines. My guess as to her race is East Indian.
My opinion of her soon plummeted. The young woman was eating cereal from a bowl. I can only figure that she's steering with her knees. Both hands are busy feeding her face. The cereal had better be Lucky Charms because she's going to need them!
Wait, you haven't heard the best ( or worst ) part yet. She had yellow lettering on the car. Guess what they proclaimed? This is a Driver's Education car!
I'm sorry but this disgusts me so much I wanted to run her off the road and read her the riot act. That might have been hard on the bike but we would have managed. Is it just me or are people selling out their values more these days? It used to be that people actually lived what they professed. The Sheriff I used to work for always preached that we should live in glass houses. When we hire new instructors we stress that they also take on the responsibility to set a good example in their motorcycle gear and riding.
Here's someone who I presume is actually a driver's ed teacher. Even if she isn't she's in a car that has "Driver Education" written all over it. Does she not care what she teaches or does she lead a double life? Either way stinks. Can't you just see one of her students riding with Mom or Dad and seeing her eating cereal? What happens to credibility? If admonitions to concentrate on your driving are found to be contradicted by her behaviour, what other things will they now question?
I managed to commit the website, phone number, and plate until I could get somewhere and write them down. I will be pursuing this matter. Call me anal and intense, but I feel cheapened. I'm a fellow educator in vehicle safety. It brings us all down.
Take care out there. You're sharing the road with some real losers. Be careful and ride proud.
Miles and smiles,
Dan
3 comments:
Oh man, you are asking for a whole book in response to this one.
I can't tell you how many times I see this kind of behavior from people who should know better.
Yes, I believe that, as the pressures of modern life increase, people continue to seek the path of least resistance, and compromise principals that they once held sacred.
Look at the example our so-called leaders are setting (Foley...).
Need I say more?
Ride well,
=gc=
dan,
I saw one pinky on the steering wheel. Yikes!
gary,
I'm with you there. I had an interview with a safety program in another state. I think I blew it when I told them I couldn't align with the current program they were promoting. When the next person asked me what "Integrity" meant to me, I told them it was answering questions truthfully like that last one, even though it could hurt my chances.
Sadly, you are exactly right and I hate that you are right because it means bad news.
By the way, they offered me the position, anyway.
Dan
I think when you get a PhD in drivers education you are qualified to drive with no hands and one foot out the window.
People do a lot of crazy things. I am amazed at how mcuh respect they will show a vehicle in the driveway with cloth and wax but how little they give it on the road.
steve
Post a Comment