As a father, I am always looking for “learning situations” … much to the delight of my children I am sure.
One such lesson came as we drove along 4th Avenue from downtown toward Whitehorse Elementary School. There were many cars along our right side, poking out from side streets, wanting to join the slow procession that we, at 4:00, laughingly call, “The Rush 10 Minutes”.
I told my kids exactly what would happen over the next two minutes and it played out perfectly: I stopped to allow a driver in front of me and, at the next intersection, that driver offered the same courtesy to someone else.
Kindness begets kindness. It’s contagious.
By the way, you should all try this … it is fun to watch and only really adds about two seconds to your drive home.
(Really, you should try this.)
But the important thing, getting back to my point, is that we now have a happy driver in front of us instead of a frustrated driver behind us. Which is safer?
I was reminded of this story when I was talking to a friend at Rotary Peace Park last week. He had recently accepted a position downtown and, after working from home for a few years, he was thrust into traffic once again.
The change in drivers’ attitudes shocked him. He was cursed at several times in one week.
I’ve never played hockey, so I don’t know what it is like to curse at someone or be cursed at. So I can only imagine at the stress inflicting our fellow Yukoners that would cause such a thing.
We’ve heard the theories before: people who are in a cocoon of steel and glass act out much more aggressively when it is someone else’s cocoon of steel and glass that is involved in something as hideous as driving too slow.
Put those same two drivers on the sidewalk and they will likely rush to be the first to apologize to each other (pre-supposing they are both Canadians).
But this is the Yukon. Chances are if you offer a finger to someone in traffic, you will likely be standing in line behind them at Superstore sometime soon.
Or, as my friend posits, they do not consider this. He thinks the cause is from new Yukoners who are bringing their big city ways with them.
That explains some of it, I am sure, but I think the rest of it has to be blamed on the actual big city coming to the Yukon.
Every time I drive through Copper Ridge, I am blown away by all of the houses. Nice houses. They must cost a lot.
To earn enough money for those nice houses, two salaries are needed. In many cases, that means child care, which means one more stop on the way home. And children need to eat soon and then there are dishes and homework to supervise and bathtime and bedtime routine and, if they are lucky, time to watch the 10:00 news.
Didn’t we come to the Yukon to get away from all of that?
I am afraid that 4th Avenue and Lewes Boulevard will become four-lane streets because we drivers can’t get along with each other. Taxes will go up to pay for these and we will all need to find another job … which means more stress.
