Listen to the episode
Driving Profile: Laura Warfel
(sneak peek)
LAURA: [00:00:00] I used to drive
fairly often from Oklahoma City to Dallas. And this particular time I had left
too and it was dark getting darker and darker I’m by myself and I look and my
gas tank is getting a little low, so I thought, okay, the next gas station I
see.
I’ll pull off. So I
see an exit coming up and I see a gas station there. Okay. Here it is like I
get off. And go down the ramp, get to
the stop sign. There is no gas station there at all.
(intro music)
BHAVNEET: Happy
Holi and welcome back to Drive With Us Podcast. A podcast where we explore
driving cultures around the world by bringing on a new guest each episode to
talk about the crazy things they’ve experienced on the road, who they are as
drivers and how they became the driver they are today. I’m Bhavneet.
TARANJIT:
And I’m Taranjit. Just a few quick reminders [00:01:00] or a quick reminder. Our 2-year
anniversary giveaway is coming to an end
soon. So if you’re still interested in entering for a chance to win one of the
two Alexa Echo dots or DWUP Merch bundle be sure to enter before Friday, March 26th, More
details about it are in the show notes below.
BHAVNEET:
Also since next month is Vaisakhi, which is a huge holiday for
Sikhs. We want to give personalized thank-you note and sticker to each one of you. Most
of our fellow podcasters do this around Christmas time, but since we don’t
really celebrate Christmas we decide to do it on our major holiday, Vaisakhi.
So if you would like us to mail you a card and sticker, please fill out your information in the Google form in the show notes below.
TARANJIT: And there’s no
purchase or anything necessary. Just a huge thank you for being a supporter of
the show.
BHAVNEET: That’s
all. Thanks.
TARANJIT: Yeah. So let’s
get into today’s driver. Today’s driver is Laura Warfel, [00:02:00] a writer, editor and advocate for widows. She has led More than a Widow, a Ministry
for widows since 2015 and has driven more miles alone than she ever wants to
remember. Like the time she hallucinated a gas station or came face-to-face
with a robber on the run that was coming her way the wrong direction. Let’s
meet today’s driver Laura Warfel.
(transition music)
BHAVNEET:
[00:02:22] Welcome Laura. Thanks so much
for joining us today.
LAURA:
Well, thanks for having me. I think this
is one of the most interesting podcast formats I’ve ever heard about, and I’m
really excited to be part of it.
TARANJIT: We’re super excited to hear all your stories. The first
question we love to start off with is what would you say is the most craziest
or most interesting driving experience you’ve had?
LAURA: Well, I actually came up with two. So the first one, I was in
high school. Hadn’t been driving very long, maybe a year or so. My friend
Maryanne and I, our parents had given us permission to go to a town six miles
away by ourselves. So we got on the expressway and started off, made it there,
fine turned around to come back.
And as we were approaching an exit ramp, a car
was coming down the exit ramp toward us in our lane. I will never forget what
it was nighttime. So the lights are pointing right at you is just the
[00:03:22] craziest experience. We were able to avoid him. And then later on we
found out it was somebody who had committed a robbery and was, was trying to
escape.
the other one I used to drive fairly often from
Oklahoma city to Dallas. And this particular time I had left too late from
Oklahoma city and it was dark getting darker and darker I’m by myself and
I look and my gas tank is getting a little low, so I thought, okay, the next
gas station I see.
I’ll pull off. There aren’t that many places to
pull off once you get out of Oklahoma city and before you get into the Dallas
Metro area. So I see an exit coming up and I see a gas station there. Okay.
Here it is like I get off. And go down the ramp, get to the stop sign.
There is no gas station there at all.
I was so tired. I had somehow hallucinated a
gas station [00:04:22] in my mind. It was crazy. So I wasn’t
able to get to the next exit, which didn’t have a gas station, but I was pretty
freaked out by the time I got there.
BHAVNEET:
That’s crazy. I’ve heard of people
hallucinating, all sorts of things would never a gas station. You must have
been really desperate.
LAURA: Time of need, right? yeah, there’s some dynamic about
driving alone in a car that, can go kind of crazy sometimes.
TARANJIT: Yeah that too. And at night, so both of your stories were at
night stories. So I feel like, yeah, those are, that’s what a lot of things do
happen. And you’re, I don’t know. I guess you have to be more aware of your
surroundings and I feel like headlights are one of those things that also like.
Blind people.
So they have a harder time driving at night. So
having that person come into your lane, I can’t imagine how scary that must
have been in that moment.
LAURA: And, and to be a new driver too. And that like, what do I do?
Yeah, it was pretty crazy.
TARANJIT: I’m trying to picture this road that you were on. [00:05:22] Was
there no, like median or divider in the middle of the road?
Was it just like.
LAURA: it was an expressway. So there was the grass median in the
middle, and then there were two lanes going our direction. So we’re going along
in our lane and we came to an exit ramp, or we could have gotten off that a car
was coming down that ramp toward us. So he was going the total wrong direction,
trying to escape from the police.
TARANJIT: I don’t know if you know what happened, but did he ever get
caught?
LAURA: He must of if I, if I heard it on the news, I guess he did.
TARANJIT: Well, speaking of your hallucination of your gas station
story, I know you were talking about another story where you tend
to wait until the last minute to get gas.
LAURA:
That’s a bad, an old bad habit. I think
I’ve finally gotten rid of that one, but one other significant time that
my sister will never let me forget about she and my nine-year-old nephew. And I
had done a road trip in Arizona. [00:06:22] We left from Phoenix and we went to
the painted desert and the petrified forest.
And then we were coming back, toward Phoenix.
And I said, Oh, I want to show you the some cool things that aren’t on the
main, main roads here. Let’s get off here. then my car at that point, They were
making cars that talk to you? I don’t think they, I don’t know if they make
those anymore. Not that this one did.
I guess you can turn it off. Now. This one, you
couldn’t turn it off. So the car is saying to me, fuel level is low and. It
wasn’t kidding. It was, it was really low. So there were obviously in this
rural part of Arizona, no visible gas stations. I happened to know of a town.
Where there might be one it was about 30 miles away.
So I just decided we were going to take a
chance that we could get there. And we did that. It was one of these ancient
gas [00:07:22] stations with the old fashioned pumps. They just had a little
bit of gas and we were able to get enough gas to get us onto the next town that
it was, Pretty stressful for my sister, mostly because she didn’t have any idea
where we were she just still talks about that and still asks me
occasionally, have you filled up your gas tank this week?
TARANJIT:
Well, hopefully your habit of that has,
gone away or do you still do that?
LAURA: No, I don’t do it any more because of what happened to me. The
only time I ever ran out of gas, I was only two miles from home and it was such
a pain to have to, to call AAA and have them come and bring me gas. yeah, it
was bad. So that, that cured me.
TARANJIT:
That’s what you needed.
BHAVNEET: So with all of the driving and different places that you’ve
been, our next question is about stereotypes of different drivers. So have you
noticed that there are any stereotypes that drivers in different areas or
different [00:08:22] driving methods of drivers in different areas that you’ve
been.
LAURA: I lived in Chicago for about 15 years, total two different times
five years at one time in 10 years at another time. And just the general
aggressiveness of the drivers in the Chicago area is like no place else. I
mean, it. It’s, you just have to be prepared for anything at all times.
So that’s how I would characterize the Chicago area drivers.
then I moved recently from Chicago to St.
Louis. The driving is very different people here probably would not. Notice or
agree, but I think one of the worst problems here is that just the lack of
courteousness, people just pull out in front of you or cut you off And it’s not
aggressiveness, but just not polite driving. If that makes any sense.
TARANJIT: Yeah, that makes sense. Uh, we actually had a guest. That just
came on recently talking [00:09:22] about the opposite of what you’re
describing drivers there, where he was saying that where he lives, drivers
would wave at each other. And then one time he didn’t it wave and he felt so
bad.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. And I was like, I wish I lived there, but I didn’t know
that Chicago was that bad. We’re in Maryland. And so obviously like Baltimore
and DC area, people are very aggressive, but I don’t know. Maybe Chicago is
worse.
LAURA: I guess it’s all in your perspective of how much you can handle
too. Cause I know different times when I would be a passenger with people who
were used to driving in Chicago much more than I was, they, they just didn’t
even think anything about it. They would just, move in and out of the traffic
and do whatever they need to do and not worry about what the other cars were
doing too much.
TARANJIT: Probably just became a habit or they just got used to it and I’m
like, it’s in my blood.
LAURA:
Yeah. I think that’s it. Or maybe I’m
too sensitive. Maybe that’s part of the problem.
TARANJIT:
So if you were given the option of being
the driver or the [00:10:22] passenger, which would you choose?
LAURA:
Well at this time in my life, I don’t
really have an option. I am always the driver, but I would choose to be the
passenger. And I’ve had some great passenger experiences of driving with,
excellent drivers at the wheel. It’s a, there’s such a trust issue there
because I know right now there’s probably.
Maybe five people. I really feel like I trust
that I can relax when I’m a passenger with them in the car, in their car. So I
think the trust issue is, is a big factor for me.
TARANJIT: So I’m thinking about your gas station story again, I don’t know
why I keep going back there, but. I’m guessing your sister preferred. If she is
a passenger in your car, she probably won’t leave you alone about that when she
preferred to be the passenger in your car or rather drive.
LAURA: well, it’s interesting. Here’s an interesting story about that.
when my husband passed away and my sister of course, was one of the first
people there after it happened. And. She said, what, what can I [00:11:22] do
for you? What, how can I help you? What can I do? And I said, just drive, just
drive. I can’t drive anymore.
my husband was blind and so I did all the
driving for him and our three children. that was a huge, huge burden. And so my
sister is definitely one person I trust. at the wheel when I’m a passenger and
I can relax and be comfortable when she’s driving.
BHAVNEET:
here’s a, here’s an interesting
question. How would you describe your driving? And would you say that your
family and friends would describe your driving in the same way?
LAURA: I think I’m a very good driver, mostly evidenced by the fact I
haven’t had any accidents since my first year of driving. So I would. Qualify
that by saying my friends who knew me in high school probably don’t remember me
as a good driver because my first year of driving was terrible. So it would be
interesting to ask them at a class reunion or something, [00:12:22] what they
think of my driving.
But my record shows that I’m a good driver now.
BHAVNEET:
You did mention that right after
getting your license? I think it was like an hour or so after you ended up
rear-ending someone.
LAURA: Yes, I did. And I told my sister, I was going to be doing this
podcast and I was going to actually talk about that and she couldn’t believe
it, but I was actually ready to talk about it after all these years. But I,
yeah, I had gotten my license and my sister was in the car with me and we were.
Driving down the main street of our small town and I was showing off and one of
my friends happened to be over at the dairy queen and I had to wave and Hawk
and do all this stuff and ended up rear ending the woman.
So that was a terrible thing, that it was an
accident, but also that all my friends in high school knew about it. And that
was really embarrassing.
TARANJIT: Yeah, I was going to ask because it’s like, if you live in such
a small town, [00:13:22] like how quickly did everyone learn about this and
knew like, were they talking about this for awhile?
LAURA: Oh, yeah, probably half an hour later everybody knew. And then
my nickname in high school was Wrecks, W R E C K S. My dad’s name was Rex R E
X. So that was kind of old joke.
But not very funny for me.
TARANJIT: Oh yeah. I mean, obviously not, but like after the fact, now
that you’re thinking back on it, you’re like, okay, it’s not as
LAURA: right. Yeah. Yeah, no, it’s fine. That it was not
TARANJIT: Well I feel like a lot of first-time or new drivers are not
great drivers. So if you’re better now, that’s all that matters.
LAURA: Right. And that was one reason why I was attracted to your podcast
because I really wanted to share that message that for young drivers, that it’s
important to learn how to be careful from the very beginning, because driving
is a, a risky business [00:14:22] Even today, there are so many more things
that can cause problems for a person who’s driving a car.
And my message would just be for young drivers
to be responsible and be careful and pay attention to your driving and make
that your focus.
TARANJIT: Yeah, that’s really important for a lot of people to hear,
especially with all the distractions like phones and stuff. And a lot of people
don’t have a hundred percent attention on the road.
LAURA:
And things can happen so quickly. And
that that’s exactly what happened to me in a split second.
TARANJIT: Well, luckily that was not a serious instance, but still it’s
like a lesson learned and it teaches you to like pay more attention. So nothing
serious does happen the next time you’re not paying attention.
LAURA: And that was emotional injury for me, because I was so embarrassed
and. I, you know, of course I’m never driving again, blah, blah, blah. It was
my dad’s new car. My sister was with me. I mean, there’s so [00:15:22] many bad
things about it and my dad was great. He, he just made me get right back out
there and start driving again, trusted me.
Didn’t put me down. Didn’t you
know, stay confident in my ability to handle it. That meant a lot.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, that’s really good to hear. It’s a really important to
have that support to get you back out there and like, keep trying.
LAURA: Right.
TARANJIT: So on a, lighter note or a funnier note, I don’t know how to,
but this is a funny type of question, would you consider yourself someone
who. Honks or is that honker?
LAURA:
No, I am not a honker. I am not a finger
flipper. I will say things in the car that I do not address the other drivers.
that’s one thing I learned driving in Chicago. My sister makes fun of me now,
but. Not, you never look at the other drivers, you never make eye contact with
the other drivers. You just keep looking straight ahead because [00:16:22] you
don’t want to engage with the other drivers, even, even if they’re doing
something ridiculous.
BHAVNEET: That’s interesting. I never heard that before.
LAURA: Yeah, because as soon as you, as soon as you make eye contact
with somebody, they can interpret that as aggression and you just never know
what might happen, especially when you’re alone in the car. Again.
BHAVNEET: What that weirdly reminds me of, is I don’t know if Chicago has
this or not, but it’s really prevalent in Baltimore. There’s a lot of people
that would just like usually younger kids that are like standing on the corners
to like clean your windshields And that’s what that reminded me. I was like,
don’t make eye contact with them and they won’t come to your car.
TARANJIT: if you do make eye contact, does it tend to lead to road rage?
And have you ever experienced road rage?
LAURA: I have experienced road rage. And that’s my theory that the eye
contact or looking at someone is, is like an invitation to engage. So that’s,
that’s the reason why I would never do it. [00:17:22] I did experience the
worst situation of road rage I’ve ever experienced. I w I had a. fairly
lengthy morning commute morning and evening commute.
Not as long as the one you and your sister do,
but, so starting out on my morning commute and the sun was just barely up
and I wasn’t even totally awake yet. I don’t think. And. I saw this guy over, I
was in the left lane. He was over in the right lane. I don’t know what his
problem was, but he started honking and then he literally aimed his car at my
car and started driving toward me.
And I was sure that he was going to just drive
right into me and I, I couldn’t easily veer. So I just, it was just. a total
blessing. I was at a point where I could turn and so I turned left and was able
to avoid him, but that was the scariest situation of road rage I’d ever
experienced.
TARANJIT: That is another level. I Why, like, why is this person driving
at you? Like, not only is [00:18:22] he going to hurt you, but he could injure
himself too. that’s crazy. I hope that never happens again.
LAURA:
And, you know, you think, well, maybe he
was having a bad day. Maybe he was, high or something. I, I don’t, maybe I did
something that I didn’t realize I did. I don’t know, but something triggered it.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah, but I definitely don’t think it
warranted that extreme of a reaction.
LAURA: That was pretty extreme.
BHAVNEET: speaking of annoying drivers or in road rage, what would you say
is your biggest driving pet peeve?
LAURA: Oh easily. And it’s so common where I’m living now. I
don’t know if it, if it is in other places, but people who pull out in front of
me without giving themselves enough time to get ahead of me. So then I have to
slow down to avoid hitting them and to me that’s just rude. I don’t get it. I
just don’t get it.
TARANJIT: I feel like whenever we ask this question to every guest and
every time they list a pet peeve, I’m like, yup. That happens here too. And
like, yep. That’s one of my pet peeves. So just [00:19:22] like adding to my
list of peeves.
LAURA: Oh, no, that that’s going to make your commute more miserable,
Me not BHAVNEET: (below)
TARANJIT: Yeah. That’s the worst. When someone just especially if you’re
already going a high speed and then they pull in front of you and you have to
like slam on the brakes just to avoid hitting them.
LAURA: Right. And then if there’s the thing that makes it even worse,
if there’s nobody behind me, I’m thinking what was, what was the big rush to,
get out of here? I don’t understand.
TARANJIT: So going into road trips are drives. What would you say is the
longest drive you’ve ever had?
LAURA: by myself, probably
eight hours and. On a road trip, my, sister, I was moving from Phoenix to St. A
lot of things happened with my sister. This is really interesting. I was moving
from Phoenix to St. Louis. And so she flew out to Phoenix and we were going to
drive back together. So we loaded up my car with all the things that I didn’t
want to send [00:20:22] with the movers.
So it was packed tight. And the two of us
wedged in there and. We ended up, hitting a snow storm and we were right in the
middle of it. And so it ended up taking us three days to make the trip. We
thought we could do it in one and a half or two. And that was a pretty scary
trip. She still talks about that one too.
TARANJIT: Seems like you had a lot of ventures
with your sister and then she never leaves you alone about it.
LAURA: She has a long memory. She does it in a nice way though.
TARANJIT: Well that’s good to hear. Has this long trip made you dislike
driving or not like it as much? Or do you still enjoy it?
LAURA:
No, I still, I love driving. I love road
trips. I love being in the car. It’s funny now with, this year, when we we’ve
had so much time for sheltering in place and I haven’t driven nearly as much as
I usually do. And sometimes I’ll come back from somewhere and I’ll just sit in
[00:21:22] my car for a while and listen to music and, There’s just something
about that sound of the music inside the car that is just, it’s like your own
private little music studio or something.
It’s so cool.
BHAVNEET: I agree with you. That’s like, that’s my Zen place. going
back into your driving first, how would you describe your first time driving
experience and who was it with?
LAURA: my first time driving was with my dad in the parking lot at our
church, and he just had me drive around and make turns in circles and that kind
of thing, just to get familiar with all the. Operating of the car operation of
the car and the controls and so forth. Then we did have driver’s ed when I was
in high school and, and I did complete the driver’s ed training too.
TARANJIT: When you, went to go take your test, how was that? And, did you
have to parallel park?
LAURA: yes, we did have to parallel park on the test and I, I did okay
with it. My, the town where we were living, we didn’t [00:22:22] really have
parallel parking in very many places at that time. So it was, it was real easy.
It was just kind of by the side of a building and it was, it wasn’t too much to
it. But yeah, I did.
I did find it. My test. I passed it the first
time and no problems with that.
BHAVNEET: Well, look at you. You’re a pro. Would you say that parallel
parking is something that’s important to have on the test? Because a lot of
places are getting rid of it.
LAURA: parallel parking
doesn’t really exist in that many places anymore. And now we have so many of
the cars that can basically parallel park for you. I think at different times
of my life, I struggled with parallel parking and I finally had to master it because
I was living in, an old, For flat building in St.
Louis that was built in the 1920s and the
streets were one way and very narrow. And that was the only option you had was
to park parallel park on the street. So a friend of mine. Just got in the car
with me and said, you’re going to master this. You’re going to, [00:23:22]
you’re going to do this. And she just made me keep doing it until I, until I
could do it.
And the way that she taught me was so cool
because she said it’s just geometry. you’re just making a shape With your car
as you’re moving. And that’s, that’s how you need to think of it and whatever
size car you’re in, you can do this. And she was right because eventually a few
years later I had to parallel park our van and I was able to do it.
So some of it is just mastering the technique
and overcoming your fears of it.
TARANJIT:
That’s an interesting way to learn. I
wish I had someone who taught me an easy way to parallel. I feel like I had to
just keep trying over and over again. Cause my instructor, I had just, he just
like zoned out and didn’t really care
LAURA: Yeah, it’s kind of a lost art, I think at this point.
TARANJIT: Speaking of cars that are able to parallel park
themselves. I feel like not too far in the future, we’ll have cars that
[00:24:22] are able to basically do all the driving and we’ll just be able to
sit in the car. What are your thoughts on this? And would you be comfortable
getting in that car?
LAURA: I personally think that it’s going to be a hard sell for people
who learn to drive driving their own cars. My grandkids they’ll, that will
probably be what they’ll be driving. And that, for me, I think it would be
really tough to. Trust the machine, even, even though I’m human and I make
errors and I make mistakes, I still think I would have a hard time trusting the
machine.
BHAVNEET:
I agree with you. I mean, I, I think for
me, it’s mostly, I just love driving so much that it’s like, I don’t want to
give that control over to you.
LAURA: there’s something there’s, there’s a sense of adventure in
driving. and it, it gives us the opportunity to go places that we
couldn’t go on foot. And it gives us the opportunity to experience a faster
speed than we could go as a human being. And it gives us the [00:25:22]
opportunity to gather together with people that we care about inside of
the vehicle.
And I can remember. Some really fun family
driving experiences, just talking and laughing and singing and, and those
kinds of things. And that’s, that’s all wrapped up and driving to me.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, road trips will never be the same. If there are
self-driving cars .
LAURA: Right.
BHAVNEET:
Bonus question time. Are you ready?
LAURA: I’m ready.
BHAVNEET: If you could make one, a new driving law. What would it be?
LAURA: I think it would be what we were talking about, about the, cars
pulling out in front of other cars. I don’t know what kind of law that could
actually be, but maybe a rule that you had to see us see the car at a certain
distance or. Judge the certain distance by some kind of a marker.
Like they used to tell us when I was learning
how to drive, not to get too close to the car in front of you. So you would
have [00:26:22] like one car length for each 10 miles an hour. Of course, that
doesn’t happen anymore. But that, that’s how we learn to judge. How far back
you should be from the car in front of you and maybe something like that.
Some kind of a. A rule that would be taught
that, count to 10 before you pull out or, you know, just something, like
that. to me, that’s one of the biggest problems and I think that’s
probably a symptom of a deeper problem of just the rudeness of people on the
road and not considering other people’s safety.
TARANJIT:
Yeah. I feel like that’s, the same
thing. Same way I feel. And yeah, if they could teach more, safety methods and
the way to properly drive a car when. Kids are learning in like driver’s ed or
something. I feel like it might be a little better. And I know like a lot of
skills aren’t even really taught.
You just have to learn as you go, which is not
the best way all the time.
LAURA: Right. A lot of my younger friends, they waited to get their
licenses [00:27:22] because they felt like they weren’t ready at age 16 to get
their license. And so some of my friends got their licenses at 18 or 21, and
that gave them more time to mature also because when you think about trusting a
powerful machine to, Someone who isn’t totally matured yet that that’s
something to think about something to consider.
And it’s easy for me to say now that I’m way
past that age, but, I think leaving it up to the students, sometimes the,
teenager is good because sometimes they can make the choice and say, I’m really
not ready for this responsibility yet.
TARANJIT: Yeah. I feel like a lot of people at that age are just like, Oh,
I want to go get my license. But there may be the rare few who are like, okay,
I’ll wait because I don’t feel ready. But a lot of younger kids are like, my
friend has her license. I’m ready to get my license. Cause it, I guess
indicates they’re have more freedom and they can now drive themselves to
wherever they want to go. [00:28:22]
LAURA: that’s a good point. And I think sometimes, depending where you
live, like in my situation, it was a small town, so it wasn’t really so much
the freedom, but it was, it was the Rite of passage. That I’m 16. Now I get my
driver’s license. Everybody has a driver’s license at 16. I have to have my
driver’s license.
And now, uh, you know, depending where you
live, people that have different reasons why they want to get their license.
TARANJIT: Do you think that the age limit should be like to the limit, be
raised to a higher age for getting your permit slash license. Or do you think
where it’s at right now is fine.
LAURA: I really like all the requirements they have in place now
for student drivers that they have to log so many hours behind the wheel with
another driver in the car before they can even, even take their tests. So
I think nowadays student drivers have to pass more milestones before they can
get their license.
And I think that’s a good thing. It makes them
think about it more seriously. I think.
TARANJIT: [00:29:22] Yeah, I know that there’s those requirements in
place, but I feel like a lot of people would cheat the system. So I don’t know
how effective they are, but you guys are effective for some. do you have
any final thoughts? I know you gave like a tip earlier, but do you have any
other tips or final thoughts that you would like to say or give to other
drivers?
LAURA: I think things that I’ve learned in my driving career, I guess
you can say career one is to not to drive when you’re tired or sleepy, because
it’s so easy to. Push ourselves too hard and think, Oh, well, it’s not that
far. I can do it. I can make it Also We have so much great weather
information now to pay attention to the weather and not fool ourselves into
thinking that we can outrun the luck, the weather.
I think that’s really important. And then I
think for women driving alone, Just to be prepared. I’m a, I’m a huge fan of
AAA. And having that safety net [00:30:22] in case something does go wrong. But
to also keep things in your car that you might need, like I have a blanket and
jumper cables and that kind of thing.
So that’s important, especially for women
driving alone. And if you are a woman driving alone, keep your doors locked.
TARANJIT: Yeah. So those are great tips. And I feel like a lot of people
don’t actually think about the emergency situation until it’s too late. So it’s
important to consider those things before an emergency happens. well,
thank you so much for coming on, and I know that you have a ministry for
widows. Where can people find you if they want to check it out?
LAURA: People can find me@laurawarfel.com. That’s L a U R a w a R F as
in friendly E l.com. And I have a blog there and also links to my social media
pages and people can find me there.
BHAVNEET:
Well, thanks again so much for coming
on. We enjoyed hearing your crazy driving stories, and[00:31:22] I guess every
time we go with your sister, you get more crazy driving stories.
LAURA: Uh, hopefully not that she she’s been, uh, very, very patient
and, and a great supporter and encourager all through all my crazy driving
stories.
(transition music)
TARANJIT: I could never let
my gas levels get that low ever.
BHAVNEET: But
you have.
TARANJIT: I know.
BHAVNEET: So
what are you talking about?
TARANJIT: One time. One
time. I will get into that. But she had a moment where she hallucinated a gas
station because that’s how many times she’s let her gas get that low. [00:32:00] Like crazy.
BHAVNEET: Crazy.
Yeah, I couldn’t. I just be too stressed out.
TARANJIT: Well, as you
mention I have had a moment where I almost ran out of gas, but have you ever
had that moment?
BHAVNEET: I
haven’t like run out of gas, but the closer closest I have come is when I had
to drive from here to New York to a dentist and I started with a full tank here
in Maryland and then we are getting off and he was like, he’s in Upstate New
York, I think and so we are getting close and I’m like uh. Cuz my dad went with
me and I’m like I’m running out of gas. I’m not going to make it. He was like
you’re gonna make it. I’m like I’m not going to make it.
TARANJIT: You’re gonna make
it.
BHAVNEET: Like that
thing. They’re gonna find out they’re not going to find out. Yeah. I’m going to
make it so we made it up there and I was so close to I don’t know if I was like
under I was under a quarter tank of that point. I’m like, oh my gosh where we
going to the gas station? But luckily there was one right by there.
TARANJIT: [00:33:00] Where you going to get
a gas station?
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
Where am I going to get a gas station?
TARANJIT: Somewhere on the
road.
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
So that’s the closest I’ve been. I’ve never let it below a quarter tank ever.
TARANJIT: So my gas my low
gas story. My low gas story. So this is the one I think I was dropping you off
for your SAT.
BHAVNEET: Yes.
TARANJIT: Yes. So what happened
was I saw the gas tank when we got in the car and I was like, I was just under…
BHAVNEET: Was
it you dropping me off her brother? No I dropped him off.
TARANJIT: It was you. So I
think it was at quarter tank gas or maybe a little below and I was like, but we
are running late I think so. I was like, I’ll just get it after I drop you off.
Like, no big deal. It’s not that far. Cuz I didn’t want to make you late cuz
were already like cutting it close. So I dropped you off and I another time of our
dad’s direction story.
BHAVNEET: You
should have asked me for directions, even though I didn’t know where it was.
TARANJIT: He had mentioned
that there was a gas station [00:34:00] on the way to the high
school where or middle school the school where you were taking the SAT test. So
I was like trying to remember where he was describing this was. I was like just
to be safe. I’m just going to put it in the GPS.
BHAVNEET: Smart.
TARANJIT: Except. I chose the
wrong gas station in a different part. In a completely different town.
BHAVNEET: How?
How?
TARANJIT: I don’t know cuz
when I Googled the name of the gas station the one that the first one that came
you would think the first thing that comes up is the closest to you, right?
BHAVNEET: Maybe.
TARANJIT: The first one
that came up is the one I selected because I assumed that’s the one that’s
right there.
BHAVNEET: But
doesn’t tell you it tells you distance.
TARANJIT: Okay, I’m still
new driver. Okay, this kind of stuff didn’t go through my mind. I just assuming
that because it was the first one that popped up on the search like in order it
is by order of the closest to farthest. I assumed that. I clicked the first one
and I’m going and [00:35:00]
going and 5 minutes past 10 minutes past and
I’m like, okay the gas station should be on this road. Like where is it? I keep
driving and driving and I was like, okay now I’m in some area I don’t
recognize. Like this is not how I got like went to go drop you off. This is not
route I took. Then the fuel light turns on.
BHAVNEET: Uh.
Problem.
TARANJIT: Yeah. I’m like, oh
my gosh. Now I’m going to run out of gas. Like I don’t even know where I am.
Like this is…
BHAVNEET: At
least it wasn’t as sketchy.
TARANJIT: It wasn’t
sketchy. It was like some wide open road with like multiple lanes and I’m like
when is this gas station coming? It kept saying I was getting close to it, but
I was like, uh? Can I make it? Like I have no gas left. Like the lights on. But
like luckily with Toyotas I think they can drive a good decent amount miles.
BHAVNEET: They knew
that people are going to wait till the light.
TARANJIT: But I end up
getting to the gas station is not [00:36:00] the
one that our dad told it was this brand-new open huge multiple gas station…
BHAVNEET: Stalls.
TARANJIT: Stalls. Sure.
BHAVNEET: Stalls.
TARANJIT: Multiple pumps.
It was huge. Like not the one that I was supposed to that I was intending to go
to To the small little one in the corner. But I get gas. I made it there just
in time. Like I was freaking out the entire time. It was just like another
moment of me trying to remember my dad’s directions. Like it was bad. But the
thing is like we actually posted a blog post about this on our website. Plug.
Plug. Plug.
BHAVNEET: Charge.
Charge. Charge.
TARANJIT: Charge Charge. It
sounds like you’re charging them instead of…
BHAVNEET: Charging
you memory.
TARANJIT: Fuel.
BHAVNEET: Charging
your memory.
TARANJIT: Or Fuel. Fuel. Fuel.
But we posted a blog post about how if you constantly go below quarter tank.
You’re actually damaging your car. So…
BHAVNEET: Don’t
do it.
TARANJIT: Don’t do it. [00:37:00] But that was Laura Story. Laura story. That was Laura’s stories
and my one gas story.
BHAVNEET: But
if you or anyone, you know has any crazy driving stories or experiences and
would like to come on the show fill out the interest form on our website at DriveWithUsPodcast.com
TARANJIT: And be sure to
stay until the end for a sneak peek of next week’s episode of hang out with us
on our Discord
Channel. Come chat with us all things driving hang out with the
other listeners and hang out with us. Thanks for driving with us.
(outro music)
ICEMAN:
My
unit is a Dodge Ram pickup truck. Fully marked on the sides. Very large
letters. And I’m on the interstate not I’m doing I’m probably doing about 65 in
a 60 and this guy like comes flying up behind me and he is tailgating. And I’m
talking he is probably three feet off my bumper. [00:38:00] Well
as soon as he gets the chance, he whips around and just guns it goes past me.
He went by me so fast he about sucked the stickers off the side of my unit.