Listen to the episode
Driving Profile: Jacob Thornton
(sneak peek)
JACOB: There’s been some instances where, well,
for me, especially where I’ll be going to work and I’ll try to be the enforcer
and I’ll slow down on the person that’s riding my butt to tell them, Hey, back off,
they’ll get super annoyed and. They’ll try to confront me, like, I was heading
to work and I turned off of, an exit and we were at a light and you know, and I
was in the right lane to turn, right.
As I was about to make that right. Turn,
the guy comes out and [00:30:00] slaps the back in my car and I just speed off
and I know they’re going to follow me. So I call my manager and like, Hey, I’m
going to be like 20 minutes late.
I’ve got a guy who’s really mad at me.
They’re trying to follow me. And I’m going to try and lose them before I get to
work.
(intro music)
BHAVNEET: Happy world bicycle day 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.
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TARANJIT: All right, let’s get into today’s driver. Today’s driver is Jacobs Thornton from Texas. He has high functioning autism but can really do anything that you can do. He works a radio business on the side while hosting the Mentally Healthy podcast. While living in Texas, he has seen a lot of crazy drivers and shares with us about the time that he made one Texas driver so mad that they started to follow him, the time he decided to mess with another Tailgater and the time he went into a drunk driver in the middle of the highway. Let’s meet today’s driver Jacob Thornton.
(transition music)
BHAVNEET: [00:02:33] Welcome
Jacob. Thanks so much for joining us today.
JACOB:
Well, I’m glad to be here.
TARANJIT: Well, we’re super
excited to hear all your crazy driving stories. So let’s start with what you
would say is one of your most craziest driving experiences.
JACOB: One of my most craziest
driving experiences would have to be the summer of 2018. This was right before
I graduated, college. I was going out with a couple of buddies of mine. And we
just got back from, Penn stack and, we were just driving down 75
North just rocking out to music, having fun windows down, on all four
sides, And all of a sudden, here comes this random person. it looked like
they were driving a Corvette, They start tailgating me and my friend.
We
were literally the only ones out on the road. So we’re like, Hey, let’s go mess
with them. And I’m like, heck yeah, we’re going to do it. We’re going to teach
him a lesson. [00:03:33] And of course I don’t play nice when it comes to
tailgaters. I really, I really don’t. I’m like the enforcer on the road
Cause I teach them, you know, Hey, the closer you get, the slower I’m going to
go. But I don’t harm anyone. Of course. I just do that to tell them, Hey,
don’t do this. So anyway, we’re like, yeah, let’s, let’s mess with them
for a bit, see what happens. The speed limits, 75 on a highway.
The
guy is tailgating me and my friend the two other lanes are open. No, excuse me,
three other lanes. We’re like the only two cars on the highway at this point,
everywhere. Everyone else is six, 1600 feet back.
They’re
like way back there. At this point, the car behind us switches lanes, and we do
the same thing. We switch over to, the right lane and he’s tailgating us. Both
of us keeps switching lanes until we both got off the exit ramp. We go
off the exit ramp and they’re tailgating and I’m slowing down. And we we turn
to get off this other road we come face to face with the driver and it’s
not a guy, but it’s a woman. So me and my friend at this point had the windows
up and the music turned down to a medium and we both realized we [00:04:33]
were just making a woman very upset.
I
mean, she was like in her twenties, she gave us that annoyed look, but she
wasn’t too bothered by it and she just turned off and then we went about our
business and we were like, dude, we just totally upset a woman driver. And I’m
like, let’s not. Do that again? That was funny, but let’s not do that again.
TARANJIT:
I can totally relate to the whole slowing down if someone’s
tailgating, because I feel like I do that sometimes too, because it’s annoying.
It’s like you can back off. Either go around me or back off. I’m not going to
speed up just because you want to go fast.
JACOB:
Yeah, exactly. And it’s like, there’s cops on the road. So, I
mean, Just because you’re in a hurry. I’m not getting in a hurry there’s
traffic. So please don’t hurt me.
BHAVNEET: You’re in Texas, right?
JACOB:
MHmm. Sure am.
BHAVNEET:
So we had this other guest on recently and they
mentioned this really weird thing that I didn’t know people did, but apparently
people do it in Texas. So I wanted to see if you ever experienced this.
[00:05:33] So apparently if you’re driving and then someone’s coming behind you
and they want to go faster, people will pull, not pull off, but they’ll just
move onto the shoulder. But still be driving and then the other person goes
around them.
JACOB:
Yeah, that that does happen. More than likely they will
pull off and go use the shoulder, which they’re not supposed to that’s for,
like, if you got a flat tire or something’s wrong with your car, but people
will actually use the shoulder depending upon which lane you’re in and go
literally go around you.
I
see it all the time. and I don’t say anything. I just look at him and I’m like,
That’s not a lane. Like what is wrong with you?
BHAVNEET:
Okay. So totally a Texas thing.
JACOB:
Yeah, It is a Texas thing. People do that all the time and
surprisingly, they don’t injure themselves from doing it. for me, I can’t do
that. I can’t do that without getting caught by, a cop. But other people,
they just use the shoulder or the right shoulder left shoulder and they just
[00:06:33] completely go around and I’m like, you graceful son of a gun.
I
can’t do that.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, because I’m like
we’re on the East coast and there’s no way that anyone would be able to do
that. So I was just surprised.
JACOB:
Yeah. If y’all ever come to Texas and you driving on the
highways, you’ll find that. We Texans were for whatever reason. God bless
Texas. We’re all big and tough. And sometimes we like to show off especially in
terms of traffic, if we don’t want to deal with it, we’ll either use the HOV lane
or we’ll just use a shoulder.
We’re
like, screw it. We’re not dealing with this. We just go around it.
BHAVNEET:
That explains all the drivers we see up here in Maryland from
Texas. We’re like, okay, why are you driving so crazy?
JACOB:
Yeah, that would be, that’d be a Texas driver. If you see a
car or a vehicle truck that has a Texas license plate in there driving like
that, you know where they got it.
BHAVNEET: Speaking of Texas
drivers, usually different areas have certain types of drivers. So like a lot
of people say that Boston drivers are very mean and aggressive. So is there a I
know you mentioned it a little bit, but like a certain type of, profile of a [00:07:33]
Texas driver.
JACOB: Well, there’s actually quite a
few, too many for me to name off, but from my experience. It usually involves
Texas drivers who drive trucks, not small little Toyotas or small little smart
cars. They are Texan, but they’re not that Texan. And if they’re going to drive
those small cars. Not those are there’s anything wrong with that.
It’s
just my opinion. You’re not a Texan, if you’re driving small cars. But for
Texans who drive trucks, they, they’re, they’re like to get on your butt
they have a lifted body, they’ll just, drive right next to you for about
maybe five or 10 minutes.
They’re
like, two or three inches with their body lifted above the wheels. And
depending upon what kind of vehicle that you’re driving, you have to look up at
them. And I call those drivers the high and mighty, because they’re just
looking down at you. Like they’re God, cause it’s like, yeah, we’re taller than
you. We can totally run over your car if we want to.
And
then there’s the wild and rowdy drivers who, who are driving the Dodges and,
they will oftentimes blare their country music so loud. they’ve got the, the
bright, [00:08:33] led lights pinned on the top of their truck.
And
then you have the city slickers who, you find them on highways, back roads,
small city roads, but mainly highways, They’ll be driving, the Mustangs, the
Corvettes, these, these really cool, fancy sports cars And they don’t
tailgate you, they just drive past you like everyone else, but the only
difference is they will make you hear them. doesn’t matter how far away you are
from them, or if you’re close to them, their engine, when they take off to get
around other cars, their engine is so loud.
You
can hear it. It doesn’t matter how loud your music is. You will hear their
engine they’re just showing off like, Hey, I’m from Texas, but check out how
loud my engine is in my new sports car. I’m so much better than you.
TARANJIT:
It sounds like you have names for all the different types of
drivers. I never really had anyone mentioned names that they were given to
these types of people, but I’m [00:09:33] curious to know, are you one of the
Texans that drives a truck?
JACOB: No, I don’t, I don’t drive a
truck actually. That’s actually going to be my retirement vehicle.
Believe it or not. I drive a 2016 Kia forte hatchback which is actually my
second car because my first car was an old 1992 Chevrolet Lumina 3.0. It was a
nice old car. Gave great gas mileage.
And it
got me through a lot until it gets like super cold in Texas. During the
winter about maybe 45 to maybe 30 degrees. And that’s when the car would get
too cold to the point where I’d have to have people push me while I’m still
starting the engine for it to go.
BHAVNEET: I find it funny that
not related to your vehicle, but that you were like, the coldest it gets is
like 30. And I was like, Oh, I’ll take that.
JACOB:
Yeah, that’s how cold it gets here. It’s never 17. No, it’s
always either 30 depending upon how bad the winter here is in Texas,
sometimes we’ll get to maybe about 25. It’s not [00:10:33] like 15. No, that’s
no. So when it gets down there, that’s when the roads freeze over with ice. And
at which point, I don’t know how other drivers do it, but I don’t get out of
the house.
I just
stay inside and wait until the ice melts. And I’m yeah, I’m gonna stay inside.
I’m going to skip my job today and just wait until the ice melts.
BHAVNEET:
But Texas is more flat. You guys get more like dust storms
and tornadoes and stuff. Have you ever experienced any of that while driving?
JACOB:
I have experienced dust storms, but, those dust storms
actually, they don’t really come from Texas. They usually comes from comes from
a desert or some sandy area And the wind will actually be so strong to a point
where it blows the wind over and gets to Texas and then that’s when the
dust storms will happen.
And
I’ve experienced that while driving. I just, drive slowly and don’t roll my
windows down at all. Oh no. Cause I don’t want to breathe in sand It’s like,
I’m going to breathe in sand. You know, I just I’ll [00:11:33] just go play in
my sandbox. And tornadoes. Yes. I have experienced quite a few of those in my
life growing up. I actually, I just pull my car. Inside inside my garage
and lock the garage door. Find the safest area in my house that doesn’t have any
windows And I just sit there and wait for it, wait for it to blow over.
TARANJIT: Have you ever been on
the road when there was a tornado?
JACOB: Yes, I have. it was back when
I worked back to my retail days when I was in high school, worked at a
place called Sam’s club. And this is when I had my 92 Chevy. It was like a
small, There wasn’t really an Oldsmobile, but it was kind of, it had the shape
of one.
So I
was driving, to, Sam’s club, And, I noticed the sky started looking
it had like a light green color to it and I’m like, I look at it, I’m looking
at, I’m just standing there looking at it.
And
I’m like, did someone release poison into the air? Like did someone just there
some like green paint in the sky and it stuck what’s going on? So I walk in to
Sam’s club [00:12:33] and in the electronics area, there’s, the weather
channel comes in and interrupts any other regular electronic programming that
just shows by default. And the weather lady says, tornado coming and I’m like,
Oh, that’s why the sky is green. This was like back in 2015. So yeah, I
have driven in one, just not towards one. Cause if I see one coming my way, I,
well, I drive away from it and head back home.
BHAVNEET:
That’d be smart.
JACOB:
Yeah. Unless I’m driving an armored vehicle, but other than
that, I just drive away.
BHAVNEET: So you’ve had more
experiences that we live in more of a mountainy area. And so I was shocked
where one day there was five tornadoes in our state. And I’m like never in my
lifetime have I seen a tornado? And then all of a sudden there’s five at once.
My sister drove nearby one in one place I drove nearby another one.
And
we’re like, what is going on?
JACOB: Yeah, five tornadoes. It’s ah,
it’s really [00:13:33] weird. Here in Texas, we usually have about one tornado
that happens every couple of years and that’s just when the weather gets bad.
Other than that, it’s just heavy rain, ice, snow stuff like that. The five
tornadoes. Yeah, no. If I lived where y’all lived and I just really just
not drive at all, I’d just be like, okay,
BHAVNEET:
I was just surprised.
JACOB:
I’m gonna just lock car in the garage and just go hide. Yeah.
Just call me when it’s over.
TARANJIT: Yeah, I didn’t actually
get the warning until we were like more than halfway to work. So we on the road
and then we got these warnings and now we’re like, uh?
JACOB:
It’s like a, it’s like help.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah. And I was like on an open highway and I’m like, there’s
nowhere for me to stop. So I guess I keep going.
JACOB:
Yeah, if I see a tornado, I drive away and drive back home,
or if there’s a tornado that’s about to happen. I don’t go out at all.
TARANJIT:
So now that we heard some of your crazy stories, let’s dive
into what kind of driver you are. If you were given the option. Would you
rather [00:14:33] be the driver or would you rather be the passenger?
JACOB: I would rather be, Oh, wow.
That’s a, that’s a good question. I’d actually be both. Can I answer it
like that?
BHAVNEET:
Yeah.
JACOB: I’d rather be both because it
gives me a different perspective on, who’s controlling the vehicle. Like if I’m
the passenger and someone else is driving me, I get to observe the driver and
how they drive and what they do and how they handle things on the road. but if
I’m the driver, whether I’m driving by myself or, or someone else’s driving
with me, I, get to see everything that’s happening on the road. And, get to see
an experience at all, whereas passengers, they don’t have control of the
situation. They can’t stop the car. They can’t. Do things with the vehicle that
the driver would. So it’s pretty interesting to experience both.
TARANJIT:
So when you were a passenger in cars, have you ever had an
experience where you wished you never got in that car?
JACOB: I have actually had that
experience I’ve had a friend of [00:15:33] mine, we were, coming back
from the Galleria mall one night there was actually three of us we were coming
back from the Galleria mall and we were just driving down 75 North here
in Texas.
I’m
not paying attention and we see this person, he had to be drunk driving. He was
parked at a diagonal way on the highway. It’s weird. It’s a person parked
diagonally in the middle of a highway. He didn’t have his emergency lights on,
but my friend in the back passenger seat yells, just look out and then I throw
my emergency lights, stop and pull over to the, left shoulder of the road
and this car in front of us sees it and stops, to make sure if we were
all right.
And
the minute we get out on the left shoulder of the road that driver who’s parked
diagonally sees that, and just speeds off towards an exit ramp because that
driver was like, Oh crap, they’re going to kill me. And we, we were about to go
after him, but then we decided it’s not worth it. so got back in the vehicle
and driving home.
And I
said, I looked back and I said, had you not said, watch out. We would have been
in some serious trouble.
TARANJIT:
Well, that’s good [00:16:33] to hear. I’m surprised that your
reaction was to go after this guy and pull over and go after them.
JACOB:
Yeah.
BHAVNEET:
Well, hopefully he didn’t go and like park diagonally on
another highway.
JACOB:
He was probably drunk and not knowing what he was doing. I
was kind of praying at that point that a cop would show up and catch him.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah. Here’s a fun question for you. What kind of driver do
you think that you are? How would you describe your driving and would your
friends and family describe you’re driving in the same way?
JACOB:
I’d say I’m more of a defensive driver, I like to drive
safe and smart and I don’t like to ride anybody else’s, butt I like to just
imagine that little cushion around my car and just play it safe. Now my family
they’re the same way as in terms of defensive driving, but my friends, some of
them are a little crazy and get road rage really easily. I mean, they’re good.
They’re good defensive drivers, but they get that road rage and that defensive
driving just totally goes out the window and they just start riding people’s *beep*.
They
go [00:17:33] around ’em and, flip them off And I’m in that car with them. And
it’s like, you’re going to get a shot. You got to get us killed one way or the
other we’re both dying.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah, that must be a pretty scary thought in Texas,
especially since guns are a big deal.
JACOB:
Yeah, it is. I mean, there’s been some instances where, well,
for me, especially where I’ll be going to work and I’ll try to be the enforcer
and I’ll slow down on the person that’s riding my butt to tell them, Hey, back
off, they’ll get super annoyed and. They’ll try to confront me, like, I
was heading to work and I turned off of, an exit and we were at a light and you
know, and I was in the right lane to turn, right.
Because
you can, in Texas, you can make a right turn on red. I found the other Texans
just make a left turn on red too. as I was about to make that right.
Turn, the guy comes out and slaps the back in my car and I just speed off and I
know they’re going to follow me. So I call my manager and like, Hey, I’m going
to be like 20 minutes late.
I’ve
got a guy who’s really mad at me. They’re trying to follow me. And I’m going to
try and lose them before I get to work. And they were understanding about
[00:18:33] it. Cause I didn’t want them following me to my work. but, I
turned down a couple of roads in the Dallas area and. found this nice little
nice little shady little back road and stopped when about 30 feet away,
parked under some trees and just turn my car off.
And
these people were in this 2002 Toyota mom looking van and they were looking for
me. And I saw the speed right past me. I didn’t honk my horn or anything. I
just sat still. And I waited for about 10 minutes.
Just
sitting there waiting, waiting. And then my phone on my timer goes off after 10
minutes. I’m like, all right, let’s get back to work now. Yeah. It was an
interesting morning.
TARANJIT:
It’s good to hear that your manager was understanding and you
are able to lose this guy because I can’t imagine what would have happened if
he did find you. He sounds like he was mad.
JACOB: He was mad. Cause he thought
that was being a total jerk. So he thought confronting me person to person
would be a good idea, but I was just trying to go to work, man. I wasn’t trying
to make anyone else mad.
TARANJIT:
So it sounds like you [00:19:33] are a safe driver in
comparison to your friends as you were describing. So would you consider
yourself someone who would honk or a honker?
JACOB:
I am a honker when I do get mad or irritated at someone. Like
if I’m driving, you know, whatever road I’m on and they cut me off or they’re
they, don’t use their turn signal when they get in front of me and I have to
slow down, I honk at them. I’ll just like, beep my horn at them, multiple
times. But that’s only if I’m really angry and aggravated, other than that, I’m
not a honker. So I just kinda let it go. And I’m like, All right. No BZ. I’ll
just move on.
BHAVNEET:
No need to get more people following you.
JACOB:
Yeah.
BHAVNEET:
So speaking of annoying drivers. What would you say is your
biggest driving pet peeve?
JACOB: Oh, God, Oh Lord. Okay. This
has to do with more paranoia, but, my biggest pet peeve is when it’s late at
night or if I’m trying to get home or going wherever in my mind. I think
they’re following me, but they’re really not. It’s like they follow you really
closely and I’m over here doing 45.
They’re
doing 45. They’re like matching your speed limit [00:20:33] and they’re not
cops at all. They’re just following you. And it’s like, Oh my God quit. It’s,
it’s my biggest pet peeve that late at night, I don’t want anyone following me
late at night. Cause that’s really scary.
And.
It’s hard to see stuff at night. It’s the creepiest thing ever.
TARANJIT:
Yeah. I can relate. There’s been times when I felt like, is
this person following me? They just go the same turns as you, or the same way
as you for a little bit. And then when they finally turn a different way,
you’re like, okay, they weren’t following me.
JACOB:
Yeah. I know. It’s like, Oh, well I didn’t need to be scared
about anything. They were just trying to get home.
TARANJIT: Exactly.
So, I
know you were saying that you, don’t get as much road rage, but have you ever
experienced it? Whether it was you who was having the road rage or someone who
was having road rage towards you?
JACOB:
Well, this goes back to me driving on the highways. It was
about two weeks ago, actually, I was just driving to work. Got good
playlist going doing 75 miles in my own Here comes this woman in her,
looks like 21 and I don’t know what she’s upset about, but, she was riding my
butt and I went slow and then she turns around, flips me off and I look
[00:21:33] at her and I’m like, what’s your problem?
You
know, I let it go. And I see you’re doing the same thing to everybody else and
I’m thinking, well, there’s a good chance. They’re going to treat her twice as
worse as I treated her. So that was probably the worst time I experienced
someone with road rage.
BHAVNEET:
it’s always amazing to me. How, when we talk to people who
are in anywhere West of us, I guess pretty much everyone. They’re speed limits
are like, 75 on the highways. And I’m like, dang. I only know one highway
around here that to be the 70.
JACOB:
Yeah. People in Texas when it’s like, if the speed limit says
30, they’ll go 35. Or if it’s 40, they’ll go 45. Now, if it’s a highway,
people will go. If they don’t get caught. And they’re lucky they’ll go 85, 90
miles an hour, even 95.
TARANJIT:
Have you ever gotten a ticket before?
JACOB: Ooo. Yes, I have. I have
gotten tickets in high school. I’ve gotten tickets even now, but luckily
they’ve never been on my record cause I’ve had to, and this just taught me a
lesson [00:22:33] had to take a defensive driving and then turn it
into the courtroom. So they can have that ticket dismissed off my record.
TARANJIT:
When you’re saying you had many, is that like a really high
number or are you just saying like, oh, a few.
JACOB:
No. I mean like, Oh, a few. I’ve had probably about six tickets.
I’ve got them all dismissed through that, driving course. They’re not on
my record.
So
that’s a good thing.
TARANJIT:
Yeah, that is a good thing. So when you take those courses,
does it just remove the points and you still are responsible for the fines or
does it drop everything for you?
JACOB:
It drops everything. It’s like it, it never happened.
TARANJIT: it sounds like you’re
really familiar with this course, then.
JACOB:
Yeah, I am familiar with it. But I don’t like taking it. And
it’s one of those courses where if you get the wrong answer. You can’t move on.
It replays the same scene, the same animation, the same question. And it’ll
keep replaying that until you get the answer right.
And
it’s like, Oh my God, I just guess one thing. And I got it wrong and it like
changes the question, but still the same thing. It’s like, Oh my goodness. It’s
so agonizing. It’s like, [00:23:33] God, I hate myself right now. You’re being
tortured almost where you’re like, you know, mentally and emotionally being
tortured.
TARANJIT:
Well, that just means don’t get the ticket again.
JACOB:
Exactly. It really taught me a lesson not to get cocky and
show off.
BHAVNEET:
Well, now that we know the type of driver you are, let’s go
back to your driving first. How would you describe your first time driving
experience and who was it with?
JACOB: I’d have to go back to my high
school days. I was in my old 92 Chevrolet Lumina and I didn’t have the permit
license. I was just driving around my neighborhood at the time, which was just
practice for driving on the road.
And it
was actually with my sister me and her were both learning how to drive,
we were just going around a neighborhood and it come down to this cul de sec.
And I didn’t know how to get out of it. my sister’s like, Oh, why don’t you
turn around or back up or do something. I completely ignored the
derivative of, backing up.
I just
of slowly went around and then I sped off up the Hill and, I [00:24:33] got to
the top, I, you I slammed my brakes and my sister’s like, what the heck? And
I’m like, well, I got out of it. Did, did we not? And she’s like, yeah, but you
didn’t need to slam your brakes too hard. And I’m like, Oh, whoops.
My
sister was mad at me.
BHAVNEET:
So, where are you both learning to drive together?
JACOB:
We were actually We both went to driving school together. We
both got our permits together and we both got our license together.
TARANJIT:
wWs it just you two in the car in that cul de sac story? Or
was there someone else in there with you?
JACOB:
No, no, it was just me and her. And my mother was, at home,
but my mom had my sister go with me because my mom didn’t feel safe with me
driving around the neighborhood alone. So she had my sister and go with
me.
TARANJIT:
Yeah. Well that’s understandable when you’re learning to
drive for the first time, you’re basically figuring everything out. Like how
much pressure do you need to apply to the brakes and the gas pedal to like make
a move smoothly as opposed to like, abruptly.
JACOB:
Yeah.
TARANJIT: How would you describe
your actual driving test experience and were you able to pass the first time?
[00:23500]
JACOB:
I was actually able to pass the first time. I actually went
to Paris, Texas to do that. And I was nervous going into the building,
but when my instructor arrived, I was like, well, I’m not nervous now. So I
just, like, okay, just do what you learned in driving school and just listen to
everything she says.
And I
literally did all that and she was writing down things and I actually passed
both the written portion and the driving portion of the test, the first go
around.
BHAVNEET:
That’s awesome. Did you have to, parallel park on your test?
JACOB:
I did not have to because there was like, no in Paris, Texas,
there was like no parallel parking. So I didn’t have to do that part.
BHAVNEET: I asked because a lot
of people that we talked to have said that they didn’t have to, and it’s, it’s
just mind boggling that, it’s a very important the skill yet. No one has to do
it on their test.
TARANJIT: So now that we’ve heard
your past experiences with driving at your current driving experiences, let’s
talk about future driving. So cars are starting to change and there’s a
possibility of self-driving cars [00:26:33] coming relatively soon. What are
your thoughts on self-driving cars and would you get in this car?
JACOB:
I will not get in a self-driving car. For anyone else that
wants to get ’em, that’s that I would not get in a self-driving car because I
have no idea where it would take me what it would do or how it would handle
things on the road. while, self-driving cars do sound nice. It’s just me,
myself. I wouldn’t get in them. I mean, I just wouldn’t do it.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way I have my reservations. I
would need to see this be tested for like years and years and make sure that
it’s actually safe.
JACOB:
Yeah. Because it’s like, you’re trusting your life with the
vehicle that’s driving you. I can understand an airplane being on autopilot. I
get that. Cause the, captain of the plane is in there, but with cars it’s like,
Hmm, I don’t like this.
TARANJIT:
Yeah.
BHAVNEET:
Bonus question time. Are you ready?
JACOB:
I am.
BHAVNEET: If you could make one
new driving law, what would it be?
JACOB:
If people are caught tailgating, they [00:27:33] get a $600
fine, like no tailgaters allowed, ever. That would be the law.
BHAVNEET:
I like that law.
TARANJIT: I wonder if that’s
already a thing, because I know I’ve experienced where someone was on my bumper
and a police officer pulled them over. So I don’t know if that’s something that
already exists and people just don’t enforce it yet. I know some past guests had
mentioned, like there should be some kind of camera or something that can
detect and just automatically ticket you if you do, if you’re driving too close.
JACOB: Yeah. I don’t know. I’ve never
seen anyone here in Texas get pulled over for tailgating. That’s more, if
people are speeding or if people get in a wreck or something, there’s
officers. But I’ve never seen anyone here in Texas get pulled over for
tailgating. Never.
BHAVNEET: Well, I’m all for that
law.
JACOB:
Yeah, me too. It’s like, teach them a lesson. That’ll get
them to quit. The $600 should be enough to tell them, Hey, you shouldn’t do it
anymore.
TARANJIT:
Exactly. Do you have any final thoughts or any tips that you
would like to give other drivers that are listening?
JACOB:
Just be careful out on the roads, be aware of, weather
conditions. Be sure to leave early, and ignore the crazy [00:28:33] drivers out
there because if they’re bothering you on the road or they’re stressing you
out, just ignore them.
They’ll
go around you and just focus on where you need to go as safe as possible.
TARANJIT:
That’s very well said. Yeah, it’s important to just do your
thing and let them do the crazy and go around. So before we let you go, I
know you have a podcast of your own. Do you want us to tell us a little bit
about it and where can listeners find it?
JACOB: Yeah. So I’ve got a podcast
called mentally healthy and what started out as me just wanting to be all about
mental health, but you can find it on anchor. You can find it on, iTunes you
can find it on literally any other audio platform.
BHAVNEET:
Well, thank you so much for coming on. We had a blast talking
to you about crazy Texan drivers.
JACOB:
Well, it’s my pleasure. And I’m glad I was able to share with
you about the crazy Texas drivers that are out there because I know I can be
one of them sometimes too.
(transition music)
TARANJIT: I have to ask
after hearing how Jacob called himself the enforcer on the road. Would you
consider yourself an enforcer?
BHAVNEET: No.
TARANJIT: No?
BHAVNEET: No. I just more
like get away from me get away from me. Thank you.
TARANJIT: You’re more like
I’ll move out of your way. Get away.
BHAVNEET: It’s more like I
want the crazy people away from me like where I can see them and keep an eye on
them. But like don’t come near me. Thanks.
TARANJIT: Keep an eye on
them
BHAVNEET: Yeah, like what
if they go crazy and come towards me? Like, go away.
TARANJIT: Yeah. I rather
have a crazy in front of me than behind me.
BHAVNEET: It’s harder to
keep an eye on them when they’re behind you.
TARANJIT: It’s harder to[00:31:15]
control the situation if they’re behind
you.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, that’s
true. So, do you consider yourself an enforcer?
TARANJIT: I feel like
certain situations I probably might be.
BHAVNEET: I don’t consider
myself, but I do slow down if someone’s going crazy and they’re if they’re on
my bumper, I’m just like, Fine. Fine. I thought that was just at Punjabi in me,
but fine. You want me to go snow? I can go slow.
TARANJIT: Yeah, that’s me.
If someone’s tailgating me and I’m already like going 5 about the speed limit,
it’s like I’m not even going slow. I’m going above the speed limit. Then I’m
like, fine. I’m going to slow down and then you can do whatever you want. Back
off or just go around. I am not going to speed up for you.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. The icing
on the cake is always when we then pass a cop sitting on the side of the road
and then they back off, and you’re like, uh huh. Uh huh. Or they speed around
you and then they get stuck behind a line of cars where they are at a red light
and you catch up to them and then you like now what?
TARANJIT: Yeah. I did
actually witness a crazy driver situation, [00:32:15] I guess on the road where
this person this lady was behind me. We are getting to a point where it was a
merge space and I was too far ahead of her to let her go in front of me. So I
merged in front of her and she was so mad that I got in front of her because
she like immediately got all my bumper and wouldn’t leave like she was practically
glued to me. And I saw ahead of me that the cars were coming to a stop. So I
was trying to prepare to give her enough time to stop. So I started slowing
down in advance and that made her even more mad.
BHAVNEET: It’s like, yeah.
But like I can’t tell if you’re going to stop, lady.
TARANJIT: So I hit the
brakes like, you know, slowly getting to stop and then I come to a full stop.
And she swerved into the shoulder because she wasn’t intending I guess to stop.
BHAVNEET: Wait. Was she
like in another car that she couldn’t see around you?
TARANJIT: No. She was in a
SUV.
BHAVNEET: How could she not
how could she not see you over your car?
TARANJIT: She I don’t know
what was her problem. And then she I don’t immediately hit the gas [00:33:15] after
a stop. I like slowly get up to speed. So here I am trying to get back up to
speed once traffic starts moving again. And she was like, I’m done with this
like she’s going too slow for me. So she goes illegally onto the shoulder and
around me and gets just in front of me like one car. Wow. What a difference?
BHAVNEET: Wooo.
TARANJIT: And then she
proceeded to ride the bumper of that car.
BHAVNEET: I’m so I feel so
bad for you.
TARANJIT: So these are two
SUVs. Her SUV color is black. The car she’s riding the bumper of is a white
SUV. And so she’s like, all right. I’m going to do the same thing I did which
she did to me. Which she tried to go around this car. Went onto the shoulder.
That white SUVs like, no. They went half in the shoulder and half of the road
and blocked her.
BHAVNEET: Good for you.
TARANJIT: And then she hit
the gas and tried to go back into the lane to go around them in the lane.
They’re like, no. And went in front of her…
BHAVNEET: They’re an
enforcer.
TARANJIT: And blocked her.
And then she’s like, alright shoulder again.
BHAVNEET: Wait. So they
just [00:34:15] kept doing this dance?
TARANJIT: Yeah. They did it
like 3 or 4 times and then they’re just like, no. They just kept blocking her.
BHAVNEET: Good.
TARANJIT: And then she just
gave up. It was the funniest thing to witness. So that person was definitely an
enforcer on the road.
BHAVNEET: Yes. Now that is
an enforcer. And from afar, good for you.
TARANJIT: I don’t think I
would have went to that extreme.
BHAVNEET: No.
TARANJIT: I feel like the
only thing I enforce is tailgating. If someone is tailgating me, I’ll slow down
like get back off.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, but if they
want to go around, go around. Like I’d rather you be in front of me and me not
be stressed out that you’re riding my bumper. So go ahead and you can just hit
the brakes if you see a cop, thanks.
TARANJIT: Yeah. You can be
my police check.
BHAVNEET: But that was
Jacob’s driving stories. If you or anyone, you know has any crazy driving
stories and would like to come onto the show. You can fill out the interest
form on our website at DriveWithUsPodcast.com
TARANJIT: And be sure to
stay tuned until the end of this episode for a [00:35:15] sneak peek of next
week’s episode, the last episode of the season. Kind of sad, but also
excited for the next season. It’s like mixed emotions over here. And don’t
forget to come hang out with us on our Discord server.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. You can chat
with us there in our off-season, too.
TARANJIT: Yeah.
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
TARANJIT: Thanks for
driving with us.
(outro music)
BRANDON:
I was on my way to work and next thing I know I started,
smelling smoke and I’m like, well, what is that?
And next thing I know smoke started pouring up out from the
gearshift and I was headed up a hill at that time and I pulled over jumped out
popped the hood on my, car. [00:36:00] And as soon as I popped the hood flames are just
shooting up out of the engine hitting the bottom of the hood.
And I run back and grab the
few things that I had in my, in my vehicle, which was a case of CDs and I had a
little small backpack. And I grabbed those two things and I literally flung them across the road.