It is all very well to blame traffic jams, the cost of petrol
and the quick pace of modern life, but manners on the roads are becoming
terrible. Everybody knows that the nicest persons become monsters behind the
wheel. It is all very well, again, to have a tiger in the tank, but to have one
in the driver’s seat is another matter altogether. You might tolerate the odd
road monster, the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered
motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a "Be
Kind to Other Drivers" campaign, otherwise it may get completely out of
hand. Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense
too. It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered of drivers to resist the
temptation to revenge when subjected to uncivilized behavior. On the other hand,
a little politeness goes a long way towards relieving the tensions of motoring.
A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgment in response to an act of politeness
helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance, which is so necessary
in modern traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of politeness are all
too rare today. Many drivers don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when
they see it. However, misplaced politeness can also be
dangerous. Typical examples are the drivers who brakes violently to allow a car
to emerge from a side street at some hazard to following traffic, when a few
seconds later the road would be clear anyway; or the man who waves a child
across a zebra crossing into the path of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to
stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road
whenever and wherever they care to. It always amazes me that the highways are
not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies. A veteran
driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learnt
to filter correctly into traffic streams one at a time without causing the total
blockage that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modern motorists can’t
even learn to drive, let alone master the subtler aspects of boatmanship. Years
ago the experts warned us that the car-ownership explosion would demand a lot
more take-and-give on the part of all road users. It is high time for all of us
to take this message to heart.
(400
words) Encouraging old ladles to cross the street whenever and wherever they want to is a typical example of ______ .