It’s official… we are now podcasters!
DriveWithUs Podcast just launched on all your favorite podcasting apps (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Google Play). Happy Birthday to us! Today marks our first steps into the podcasting world, and we are excited for you to join us.
If you haven’t done so, check out our intro episode (or click over to the about us) to learn a little more about us- your hosts. Because, let’s be honest… it’s a little weird letting a stranger into your car, home, or wherever you are reading this. So head on over and find out a little about us!
Here at DriveWithUs Podcast our goal is to create a “podcast for the everyday commute” and to do that we will take you on a weekly journey filled with some learning (because knowledge is important), lots of laughter (we only provide the “best medicine”), and a little weirdness (to keep things interesting). So no matter how long or what method you use to commute, we are here to help make the journey more enjoyable!
And what better way to debut our first episode than to talk about drivers of the road?
AllState has an annual report for the Best Drivers of America where it ranks the best (and worst) cities and states in the country. So you thought you were done with school and grades? Wrong! You are still being graded… and unsurprisingly our state, Maryland, was at/near the bottom for both the city and state rankings.
Now that you know who holds the not-so-coveted title of Worst Drivers of 2018 (ahem… Baltimore), who do you think is the best? You guessed it: Brownsville, Texas! (I will actually be really surprised if you did guess it, but I was going for an optimistic, supporting vibe- no guess is bad.. unless you chose Baltimore. Because then we would need to have a little talk about criteria for best and worst. Since apparently the Brownsvillyans seem to have this driving thing down… PLEASE TEACH US!!!
Because we here at DriveWithUs are all too familiar with the craziness that is Maryland driving, we must wonder: If we can survive driving on these streets, does that mean that we can successfully survive driving anywhere in the US? You know what they say… “if you can survive the worst than you can survive anything.” Well I’m not sure if there is an exact such saying… but you get the idea. Now we want to know how the driving conditions of other states are, and you know what that means… road trip! (Or, since we are a little low on the budget, maybe you can help us out). How is the driving experience in your home state?
Where does your state/city rank on All State’s list? Click the link to find out and let us know in the comments.
Now that you have learned that the people around you are either pro-drivers or maybe should never have gotten their licenses, let’s move on to a more joyful topic: “City Escaping.”
There was a Nintendo Gamecube game (90s kids shoutout!) called Sonic Adventure Battle 2 which had a particular level called “City Escape.” The goal of this level was simple: snowboard down a paved road (no snow) avoiding cars and objects to get to the end goal (a giant ring). Oh yea… and there was this ginormous big rig chasing you, trying very hard to create roadkill out of you. Playing this game as a child was a thrilling experience… little did I know that this was an accurate representation of the real road (minus the hedgehog skateboarding on a snowless road).
I’m sure this is not only a Maryland phenomenon. Whether it truly is a big rig behind you, a pick up truck, or even a Beetle, the feeling of “City Escaping” is not a fun one! Driving can be a very intense and thrillful experience (like a thriller movie and not a thrilling roller coaster ride). It might be safe to say that Road Rage in the lovely state of Maryland may be more than you might encounter in some of the other states. How does one safely maneuver their way out of such a situation? It is times like this that I wonder why a certain invention has yet to be found in cars:
The reverse honk.
I have found that I need a reverse honk more often than I need a forward honk. I am more scared of the person behind me than I am of the person in front of me. If someone is crazy in front of me? I’m golden. But what about all those times were someone is practically rubbing your back bumper with theirs? Surprisingly, I can count on one hand the number of times that I have used my horn, but if I had a handy-dandy reverse honk… that number would be too high to count. So maybe it might contribute to more honking on the roads… and possibly more road rage… which we don’t want… Well the idea is a work in progress!
One way to circumvent this road rage is to put more friendly vibes out when we are on the road. And this does not require a new invention that will most likely not be found in cars for years… you already have all the tools with you! Whenever it is raining, you know how you turn your wipers on (because you want to see!)? And the cars coming in the opposite direction also have their wipers on? Well, in my mind, when mine and another car’s wipers go off as we pass each other I believe that our cars are saying “hi”! This might just be me at the moment, but it should become a natural part of driving (they should probably teach this etiquette in class 🙂 ). Even if it is not raining, use your hands! The next time you drive by a random stranger, give them a smile and wave! You just might make their day… or confuse them. The second option is currently more likely, however, if everyone does this, then maybe, just maybe, instead of looking around all confused the person might wave back at you!
If you would like to listen to more in-depth accounts of some crazy driving incidents we have encountered on the road, listen to Episode 1 of DriveWithUs on your favorite podcast app or find the episode under the Episodes Tab right here on the website!
Have you encountered a situation where you needed a reverse honk or felt like you were “City Escaping”? If you have any crazy stories that you think could fall into the Worst Drivers Hall of Fame, share it with us in the comments below!
And as always, check us out on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook (links at the top and left of the web page) for updates and fun sneak peeks of our upcoming content!
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