Note: Transcripts are prepared by an AI program and as a result may not be 100% accurate. For those of you who know us, know we are working very hard for this podcast (with our 3 hour round trip commutes and full-time jobs), and as we have time, we are slowly working on correcting the transcripts. We greatly appreciate you for understanding and your patience.
Listen to the episode
Driving Profile: John D. Lewis
(sneak peek)
JOHN: So we’re coming from Orlando. I have
group. It’s like a group of five. Like, the traffic was really bad. It’s jam
packed, like, 1.7 miles, we were in traffic for 3 hours. It’s double lanes, but
it started to free up. And when people don’t pay attention, you can get over.
And I got over,
and I cut somebody off, and I didn’t mean it. I really didn’t. And I put my
hand up like, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We come to a light. And I look at my rear
view mirror.
Oh, my gosh. It’s
like yesterday. And I look at my mirror and he has a gun. And he goes like…
now I see this. I told my friends I said, oh, my God, the dude got a gun. And
he was like, oh, just go, John, just go.
I was like, oh,
no! I ain’t running from no gun. I ain’t scared of no gun. So the light turns
green, and I start going, like, 10 miles an hour…
(intro music)
BHAVNEET: Welcome back to drive with those
podcast. I’m Bhavneet.
TARANJIT: And I’m Taranjit. We’re super excited to
have you ride with us as our drivers, take us on some adventurous drives. This
season today’s driver is John David Lewis. And listening back to this episode
when I was adding it. Okay. Wow. Editing it. I feel like that’s always a hard
word to say because he like edited it.
But what I was
editing his episode, it made me. So much in a good way. Like it was such a
great lighthearted conversation. And he even opened up about some of the
immaturities he had as a young driver. And I know at first he was like, I
wasn’t going to share this, but I’m super glad that he got the confidence to
share it because I feel like it will help other drivers and know that they’re
not
BHAVNEET: alone and showing them.
Even though you
may be, or may have been immature, you can still grow and become a good driver.
Yes. 100%
TARANJIT: better driver. Yes.
BHAVNEET: But before we dive into to John’s crazy
driving stories and our conversation with him, a little car keeping ha ha
TARANJIT: every time
BHAVNEET: Lakeway. I just wanted to say thank you
to all of you that have been supporting us, cheering us on and who kept pushing
us to put out this great content and to those of you that are just joining us,
we truly could not have gotten this far without you guys.
So if you enjoy
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early. Watch the full video version get merged and more.
TARANJIT: All right, enough of our car club car.
Wow. I can’t talk this episode enough of our car keeping and let’s meet today’s
driver. John David Lewis. John makes today better than yesterday. And doesn’t
worry about anything. He cannot control. He is a father of two and husband of
one, the self-proclaimed habitual thought challenger and one half of the
podcast, diverse clarity. Let’s meet John.
(transition music)
BHAVNEET: Welcome John to drive with us podcast.
Thanks so much for joining us today.
JOHN: Thank you for having me. It’s my
pleasure.
BHAVNEET: We’re excited to talk to you about your
driving experiences. Before we dive into those, we’d like to get to know a
little bit about your background of driving. So like, what are some of the
places that you’ve driven? Where are you currently?
JOHN: driven all over the United States. I’ve
been in probably like 42 states. But I grew up, I grew up in Louisville,
Kentucky started driving there I went to school in Michigan and then I lived in
Florida and then I moved to Georgia. And now I’m currently in Abu Dhabi. Those
are really the, the only countries I’ve ever driven in.
I didn’t drive
into other places because of, not being comfortable enough cause it’s all kind
of drivers. When I first moved here, the drivers are so much more aggressive
than the United States. And I didn’t drive for like a month because I was
afraid I didn’t know how to drive anymore.
TARANJIT: How would you describe your driving
career in terms of your relationship with driving? Do you hate driving? Do you
love driving?
JOHN: I hate driving. Because I’ve, I’ve lived
when I lived in Michigan, I drove to Florida, that’s like 17 hours. And I did
that a lot because when I moved to Florida, my family a lot where in Michigan
and through Kentucky. So it was just, I just got tired of driving. When I first
started driving.
I definitely
enjoyed it because that’s what kids do. And then. I quickly learned to dislike
it. I definitely hate driving. , but I’ll do it like my wife and I, she, she
likes driving more than I do, but now I’m to the point where I don’t want her,
I don’t want her to really do anything if I can do it.
So have lessen the
hate for driving just because it makes her happier. But, if
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
JOHN: up to me, I would have somebody drive me
everywhere.
TARANJIT: So I have to ask you this. Have you ever
had a passenger experience where you were the passenger and you were like, oh
no, this is not a good idea.
JOHN: Yes. My wife she’s a lot better now, but
she, she tailgates. It’s very difficult to fall asleep when she’s driving,
because I’m uncomfortable. And just driving with her is, is it’s kind of, yeah,
it was really uneasy because I was taught to every 10 miles speed, every 10
miles per hour speed limit.
Like if it’s 60
miles, you need six car lengths behind and she’s like one and a half, two. And
I’m like, you trust the person in front of you too much because anything could
happen. I’m, I’m a, I’m a lot more safe when it comes to that, because I can’t
control the people in other cars, but I can control mine.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, so
Taranjit is not like that where she drives really close, but I feel like she
drives a little closer than I would. So like, even if I’m sitting in the passenger
seat there’s moments where I’m like hit the fake brake.
JOHN: it’s, it’s definitely some holes on the
passenger side from my foot going all the way to the floor.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, I can imagine. So if you’re
comfortable sharing this is your wife from the U S too?
JOHN: She’s
BHAVNEET: where’s she,
JOHN: she’s from Lansing, Michigan
BHAVNEET: okay. I was just wondering, in terms of,
because you’re saying her driving styles, she was taught a little differently
than what you were taught in terms of distance. So just curious where she
learned,
JOHN: yeah, she’s just really aggressive and,
, she’s, she’s always mad in the car because she feels like everybody’s was set
up to just make her mad when she starts to driving. So that’s another reason
why I enjoy the idea of driving, because like it’s so much more peaceful.
BHAVNEET: well, speaking of aggressive drivers,
let’s dive into your crazy driving experiences. So what would you say are your
top three? Craziest diving experiences.
JOHN: I’ll start off with this one. In 2004,
the NBA all-star game was in Atlanta. Now this is years before I moved there.
we’re coming from Orlando. I have a group it’s like a group of five. we’re
we’re in a Bonneville 98 and we shouldn’t have this many people in the car, but
we want to go to the all-star game.
And when I say it was so many people, like the
traffic was really bad. So have this, street called peach tree street, and it’s
jam packed like 1.7 miles. We were in traffic for three hours. is double lanes,
but it started to free up and when people don’t pay attention, you can get
over.
And I got over it,
cut somebody off. And I didn’t mean it. I really didn’t. I’m putting my hand
up, like, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. We come to a light and gets out the car he
comes to my window and he says a whole bunch of obscenities. And I’m like, oh
my gosh, I didn’t mean it. But. I didn’t say it with empathy.
I said it like
with an attitude, like, man, I told you my bad, like I’m talking kind of crazy
to the guy because he came to my window and he said, oh, for real, it’s like
that. And I’m like, yeah, it’s like that. So he
to his car and I
look in my rear view mirror. Oh my gosh. It’s like yesterday, look in my mirror
and he has a gun.
And he goes like,
now I see this I told my friends, I said, oh my God, the dude got a gun. And he
was like, just go, John, just go. I was like, oh no, I ain’t running from no
gun. I ain’t scared of
So the light turns
green and I started going like 10 miles an hour. so I’m really
this guy.
And all my friends
are in the back and they just duck it down. Like, man, God, what are you doing?
The reason why this is a crazy story, because I can’t believe I was that
immature. I was invincible. grown so much from that point,
so we got out of
that, like it was a police officer to the left and guy behind me just went
around me because he was worried about the police. but to segue into this next
story, next story is the same weekend. We go to this gas station and it’s it’s,
it may be like three of us in the car.
Two of the guys
that were in the earlier trip, somebody hits my car while I’m in it. They
bumped it. And, and I, and I wasn’t upset because I knew how many, there was a
lot of, it was a lot of cars there. But this was the problem.
It was a lady in
the passenger side and I rolled down my window. They wouldn’t roll the window
down. I am going off now because all I want is an apology. Just like my bad,
the lady rolls down the window and says, I’m sorry. She’s I said you didn’t do
this. I want to hear apology from him. What, what do you apologize?
Like I’m snapping
again. I’m just thinking I’m like, now I’m like, I can’t believe I’m was that
volatile. the guy looks over and says my bad man. I rolled the window back up
and my friend on the passenger side said, man, you can’t be talking to these
people crazy. You don’t know if they got a gun?
I said, they don’t
know if I got a gun. He said
you
don’t because I
know. And I’m like, I was, I was just in a place of ignorance. I guess it was a
combination of my upbringing. Just being tough when I didn’t have to be, to put
my, my friends in position. To nearly get into an altercation with a guy who
really had a gun and to put myself in another situation during the same weekend
to snap off on somebody.
I don’t have, I
don’t even believe in guns anyway. So I don’t even know why I was talking as
if, if he had a gun. What was I going to do? And, my friends, talk about the
all-star weekend, we talk about how, how and senile that was to put not only
me, but everybody else in a situation where, do use guns.
And I just felt
like. Not me. They’re not going to use them on me. It was a really
uncomfortable situation as an adult. After I matured, I would say that as an
adult, I was like 25 and I’m 43 now. But I think when I hit maybe like 33 or
34, I calmed down and I reflected back and I was like, I cannot believe that I
put group of people in danger and it was just, it was ugly.
It was just it’s.
It’s embarrassing. And the reason why I, wasn’t going to tell you guys this,
because, because I was really worried about my image, but I feel like can show
people that you can grow at any age. I can show people that it’s never too late
to grow up.
BHAVNEET: . I agree. I feel like some people need
to hear the experience and be like, oh, I’ve also like maybe gone through
something similar. I can make that change. And I can take that step. Like
someone else has also gone through that. So it’s a great story to hear, to
relate to.
JOHN: I appreciate that. This, this next one,
this is something I do talk about when I talk about college. So this is before
college. I graduated, I live in Louisville, Kentucky, and I ended up going to
Michigan state and we had an orientation program. So I drove to Saginaw,
Michigan.
It’s about an hour
away from Lansing pick up a friend who’s going to Michigan state. I rented a
neon and I don’t know how the rates are, but if you’re 25 and under the rental
cars are more expensive. So I’m 18. And. I know that it’s expensive. I go pick
them up. We go to the orientation and at the end of the orientation I’m taking
them back to Saginaw, I’m doing 104 a, in a neon, 104.
And I get pulled
over. My heart is jumping out of my chest. Now this is, this is well before,
the social injustice of police officers. So was only scared because I was
afraid of a ticket, not because I thought anything was going to happen. So I
get pulled over and the police officer comes to the door and he says, do you
know why I pulled you over?
at that time, I’m
like, yeah, officer, look, I’m in a rush. I got to get back. Like, I’m trying
to make it seem like it was warranted for me to drive that fast. I give him my
license. He goes to the car my roommate is in the passenger side. he says, God,
we really got pulled over, doing 104 in the neon and comes back and he says,
I’m going to have to give you a, , a ticket, but I’m going to have to, he had
to hold some, he said I had to give him some type of money because I lived out
of state to ensure that I was going to come back to the court.
And I was like, I
can’t get it any money. I need to pay for this rental car. So he said, do you
have anything in the car? And I was like, like what? No, he said, okay. If I
check your car and I don’t find anything, I’ll let you go.. I had to get out
the car. My roommate had to stand out in the field.
The grass is
really high and it’s hot outside. So just imagine your roommate on the
expressway, but in the grass, he told him to go stand in the grass. He was
like, all right, open up your trunk. So I opened up the trunk and it’s just my
backpack, with my clothes.
And he was like, I
need you to empty that out. So I empty it out. And then it’s a bag of
contraceptives that just falls out. And now he already knows that I’m coming
from this orientation. And he was like, I guess you’re really prepared for
college. Aren’t you? And I’m like trying to say anything for him to be, cool.
But he was
actually cool about everything. As soon as. He sees that and we small talk,
another police car pulls up and now I’m a little worried. I’m like, what is
going on? He says, wait here. And I’ll be back. goes to the police officer and
then he comes back and he says, Hey, slow it down make sure you stay safe when
you go to college.
Cause I know
you’re prepared and we got in the car, we might’ve did 50 miles per hour on the
way back. I was just like shook. I was like, oh my God. Because that
conversation, he told me that it was considered reckless driving and that
technically could have arrested me and
I had no idea. And
I was like, what was I gonna say, tell my father that I got arrested for doing
104. I was blessed to not get a ticket. And Lord knows that day I was
definitely supposed to get a ticket. I was supposed to get something, thank God
that other police officer came because apparently it was something way more
important than me.
BHAVNEET: It’s good that you learned from that
situation. There’s some people that are like, oh, well that means I can just
keep doing it. And I think there is a thing atleast in Maryland, where if you
go over 80, it’s reckless driving.
JOHN: 80.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. But like, I know other states,
other states the speed is like 75 or 70, but Maryland, I think the fastest I’ve
seen a 70, but. Yeah. And I was like out west by the mountains.
JOHN: Wow. , I I’ve driven out to Oklahoma
before, a road trip from undergrad. It was like 18 hour drive. And was the
first time I ever saw 80 miles per hour on expressway.
It’s like nine of
us in two cars. And, and this is the Bonneville still we’re deep in the car is
five of us again, some of my friends are heavy. I mean overweight. You can tell
because my car couldn’t go fast at all.
It would take time to build up speed. So I’m
following behind this with us, and somehow we another car in front of us and
there’s a semi on the right. So I’m mad because I’m stuck and whoever this car
is, they decide to slow down and go the same speed limit as this semi
was like an
opening and I tried to get over and they sped up to prevent me. So now. I’m
really I’m fuming. Nobody in the car knows what’s going on because they’re all
asleep. I’m furious I already hate driving at this, this age. And like, I’m
going to beat the brakes off of these people.
I don’t know. I
know I wasn’t going to beat the brakes off of him because who’s gonna pull over
and go fight. But in my head they better not ever pull over while I’m feeling
like this. We have cell phones, so I call my friend. I said, Hey man, this car
in front of me, won’t let me over. What I need you to do do is get in front of
that car slow down he slowed down. So I ended up getting over We both blocked
him. Now there’s an exit coming up. I’m not even paying attention. And the
guys, it was like a group of guys also when they saw what we were doing, they
immediately slowed down really fast and veered off on an exit.
And in my head,
I’m thinking about, I need to go to this exit and do a U-turn and come back. Again,
there was the immaturity trying to do things that was unnecessary. And I think
that these driving experiences, cause me to slow down and reevaluate myself,
like now, in the last 10 years I have been model driver.
I have gotten a ticket here before, because
sometimes, you just get caught up in your foot, gets a little heavy. But I
don’t get them often, I really don’t get upset with people that cut me off or
anything like that, because I feel like, me just get out the way. So no
accidents happen.
I know you said
three stories, but want to just talk about when I first got here with the
driving. They’re really aggressive and they like, it’s a lot of areas where
they have roundabouts. I had never seen a roundabout in real life until I came
here and it’s a lot of traffic and people know where to go.
How do you know where to go? there, their
rules. So if you’re on the far left. That means you’re going to go left. So you
got to go all the way around and then, then if you want to go straight, you get
in the middle and if you’re going to go, right, you got to go on the right
side, but they didn’t follow these rules.
You just get in
where you fit in. Now it’s nothing, and I realized that everybody knew how to
drive, but me, you learn the environment that how they drive and then you
adjust. coming over here, you heard these rules, like you shouldn’t flash your
lights at people to tell them to get out the way don’t honk your horn, no hand
symbols or whatnot.
So they, their
speed limit is I’ve seen as high as 160 kilometers. That’s like 97 miles an
hour. And. I haven’t gotten up that I went to like 150, but my, the vehicle, I
rent a car and it was like, the smallest vehicle you can get. the slightest
wind and makes you feel like you may just tip over, , I only wanted to do it
because it was legal and I wanted to see how it would feel. But here the
people, the Emirates , you know, their Emirates, these, because they have the
darkest ting to man and they’re in big Nissan trucks. So imagine the speed
limit. But I do go over the speed limit because they let you get, like, they
let you bump, bump up like 20 miles, 20, 20 kilometers a ticket.
I’m getting in the
left lane to pass somebody. get these lights. like, I’m trying to get out the
way now you see in the back that this car is coming really fast. I mean
BHAVNEET: Hmm.
JOHN: the fastest, like, like you just feel it
like an accident’s about to happen, just driving and the car won’t go fast
enough for me to get it, but
this, the, the,
the person behind me, they go on the emergency lane just as fast and just zoom.
It’s like they use
the emergency lane as a passing lane. And the, level of recklessness here,
it’s, it’s almost normalized. You just expect them to do it. So all you can do
is defensive driver,
BHAVNEET: Okay.
JOHN: being like that just looks like an accident
is going to happen. And since I’ve been here, I haven’t really seen any
accidents, but I’ve, heard about some really bad accidents.
Being here made
me. Become very defensive. So that’s why don’t get upset anymore when I’m
driving, because I don’t have a reason to be upset. Just get out the way, you
know, that’s so that’s, that’s where I am. You gotta hear this one. So there’s
a mall to my left.
, a big mall. I’m
in the right lane going straight and it’s jam packed. I can’t go anywhere. the
person behind me is flashing their lights at me. Like they want me to go, like,
I’m thinking in my head, this is the one time where I considered getting upset.
Because they’re
flashing means lashing means you need to get over. the cars are not moving and
I’m like, why are you, where am I supposed to then to the left of me is a
median where it’s a high median. So it’s like either run into this median or
run into a car. in my head, I’m thinking like, how, what am I supposed to do?
So I don’t get
upset. I’m trying to talk myself off the ledge, because I’m almost to the point
where I want to park my vehicle and get out and say, what do you want me to go?
, it’s just annoying when you just see people just flashing and it’s like, what
do you do in that situation?
Yeah. So, over
here made me a better driver. I’m a slow lane person, anyway, I feel like I’m
important enough wherever I’m going, they’re going to still be there. So
there’s no need for me to drive fast somebody else from getting to their
destination.
I’m just trying to
get from point a to point B.
Yeah,
TARANJIT: that’s a great mindset
to have that
destination. Kind
of be there, no matter how fast
JOHN: Definitely.
BHAVNEET: and like what is going a little bit
faster again to, you’re only gonna save like what one or two seconds? A lot of
times, what I’ve noticed is someone will speed around you and then they get
stuck or like you get to a stoplight and you’re like, oh, where’d you go? You
know, you made it so far.
JOHN: That is a great point. And, , I think
that that helped me too. When I was younger, when I used to do like 10 to 12
hour drive, just want to hurry up and get there. when I averaged it out, I
might’ve got to a place maybe 23 minutes earlier myself and others in the
street and possibly getting a ticket.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. It’s just like, if you do save
those five, 10 minutes say, but like, what if you did get that ticket then now
you just wasted another hour, whereas you could have just been five minutes
late.
JOHN: and your money, you’re going to have to
pay the ticket.
BHAVNEET: Yeah,
JOHN: There’s a lot of bad drivers out there,
, and I don’t need to add to it.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, you did mention roundabout. So I
want to come back to that. , I want to like over there in Abu Dhabi. Is it like
really big roundabouts? Or do you have like the little ones that are like
single lanes? Or do you have like the big ones that you see in like London that
are like 10 lane roundabouts?
JOHN: I think the largest one that I can think
of right now, maybe like four or five lanes. Oh, you know what, , when you go
away from the city, they have some really large ones. But it’s not as much
traffic, the ones here in the city outside of like the main streets have
stoplights, but once you leave a main street. They still have legitimate streets,
but the roundabouts definitely have like four or five lanes, but now the
roundabouts have they have lights at them now.
when it’s time for you to go, there’s a light.
So it’s a light that lasts for five to 10 seconds. I think maybe some accidents
happen where too many foreigners didn’t know how to drive it. So decided to
take, to take that route.
They have some
nice roundabouts, but the London one, no, I haven’t seen one like that where
it’s that many cars and that’s, that’s, that’s another reason why I wouldn’t
drive there. I would have to live in that country it’s on the opposite side.
So in Thailand and
London, they drive on the opposite side and you just sit in the cab and you
just get scared because you see
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
JOHN: the opposite way that your mind thinks
you’re supposed to go. You’re like, oh, wow. tricks you because you’re just so
used to being on the right side you look like you’re about to go right into
them. And then the other cars going completely the opposite way. It was
definitely a, um, it was unsettling for a long time.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, it felt that way. And when we went
to Australia, because they also drive on left and I was like, oh my God, where
are you doing? Oh, nevermind. You’re supposed to do that. But then the thing is
also I’ve noticed they’re really good about using their indicators in the
roundabouts. But like, I think roundabouts are kind of newer in the U S or at
least in our area.
So I don’t think
anyone knows how to really use them. So I wonder where you are, do people
actually use their indicators? Going in the roundabouts. Is that a thing? Or
like when people are just like, do whatever I want.
JOHN: I’ve been one of those people who kind
of like, you kind of just learn, whatever the behaviors are over here, for the
most part, everybody follows along. Like even, you know, how, . I told you on
the left side, if you get in the left side, that means you’re turning left.
So that means you
got to make the largest loop, , on the inside though, and sometimes you’ll find
somebody who’s in the far left. That’s going to get off on the first . Outlet.
So they call them exits. So the first exit is a right turn or whatnot, you’ll
see somebody come from the left.
So I just prepare
for that all the time. If I see a car to my left, I just slowed down because I
don’t know what they’re going to do. Because at the end of the day, even if
it’s their fault to be an accident, cause my time is too valuable. So I just
feel like I’m just going to be proactive anybody that’s outside of my vehicle.
Cause you can’t
control it, anybody but yourself. So that’s how I approached that. But yeah,
for the most part, yeah, everybody those rules. And , occasionally you’ll see
people do some outlandish stuff.
BHAVNEET: Since you’ve been to so many different
places and have driven or been a passenger in so many different places in the
world. How would you describe drivers in different areas? Like if you were to
profile the drivers in different areas, how would you describe them?
JOHN: I, the worst driving I’ve ever seen was
in Egypt. and when I say worse, I mean the most aggressive. They only had one
stoplight in Cairo and they’re driving really fast. the video game Frogger,
that’s what it was for people to cross the street. There was no cross walks,
imagine a four, a three lane street, and then you have five cars next to each
other, like three lanes I’m talking.
To the driver and
I’m like, y’all see these lines in the street? He said, that’s decorations.
Yeah. But when I tell you, like you could stick your hand out and touch another
person’s car. That’s how they drive. Just imagine the expressway and you just
see just crossing the street nobody is slowing down. Like the craziest thing in
the world because when you see these people they’ll walk and literally walked
between two cars and the cars are just drive past.
They’re not afraid
or anything, but I guess, you know, like, You just get used to it and you have
to figure it out. But it was by far the most unsafest driving that I had ever
seen in my life. And, they blow their horns all the time. me in the United
States, blowing your horn just means like, almost hit me or get out the way,
but they blow their horns and let you know I’m here.
So don’t come over
here. It’s like a warning, but hear the horn. I’m like, who are you talking to
is for anybody who’s listening to the horn.
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
JOHN: huh? We were driving. We were pulling up
to this restaurant and it’s this guy just in the street and the guy’s just
blowing his horn.
The guy is literally in the street. And I
mean, driver is, is pressing his horn and and my family is just watching now
because we see the guy in the street. And when I tell you, our driver came
within two inches from this guy and he turns around and looks at us like you.
And my way it was the craziest thing.
Literally, was
phased by any of that horn. horn there is you hear it so much. You don’t even
know an emergency is about to happen because they just hear horns. And I’m
like, this dude could have really got hit. If, if our driver didn’t stop. And
the guy, his attitude reminds me of me when I was talking about the story,
look, the guy with the gun, I was like, what are you going to do?
I had considered taking my family to live
there too, but I just couldn’t because. To me, I don’t ever want to be able to
drive like that. don’t even want those that skillset,
it’s it’s scary.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. It’s, it’s interesting. Cause like
some places in the world, it seems like they use their horns as their
communication. And whereas others they use their indicators and they like flash
you, like move over. But, I wanted to ask you, because we had a guest on our
last season that had been to Cairo also, and she mentioned that.
If they miss an exit, they’ll just stop on the
side of the road and start reversing down the highway to catch their exit. Have
you ever seen that
JOHN: Here.
Here in Abu Dhabi. Oh my gosh. is so regular.
Because if you miss your exit, may not be going to your destination. You’re
going to another city. The exits are so far from each other and I’ve seen
multiple cars do like you see that regularly.
It’s not even
surprising anymore. You just kind of expect to miss their exit. And then back
up on the expressway. Oh, we went to Oman we drove to Oman from here and don’t
have any exits. I’m using my navigation to get to our hotel and we kept passing
it because we didn’t know how to get there until we saw somebody get off.
And now imagine an
expressway and to the right of you let’s say just a bunch of dirt. Like just
the regular environment no exit. So just drive off the side of the road get to
wherever you’re going.
Like no exits at
all. There’s no exits that we see. We know what they look like, that was a
weird, a weird thing too, because we just keep driving by this, this hotel and
I’m like, how do we get over there? we drive all the way down then to turn
around, they did have this area we went to to get to the other side, to drive,
you got off and then you had to drive up under some bridge, but it doesn’t even
look like it’s legal, this is just what they do.
It’s real weird. It’s like a tunnel you go
through to get back to the other side and I’m like, The things that in America,
that we have the luxuries of the, of what it looks like to us.
BHAVNEET: Okay.
JOHN: lot of things for granted because other
countries have they own systems. And imagine if you in a place and you see your
hotel and you just keep driving by, you don’t know how to get to it, you don’t
realize that you just supposed to drive over it, like literally drive off the
road to get there.
BHAVNEET: Well, as a good thing that there’s GPS
now, because I can’t imagine traveling before there was like a physical GPS,
like an actual handheld map, that’s confusing. And on top of you being in
another country and trying to figure all that out.
JOHN: Yeah, definitely.
BHAVNEET: So now that we’ve heard your crazy
driving stories, which we’ve see that you have a lot of let’s dive into you as
a driver. I know you touched on this and we’ve gotten to know you a little bit
as a driver, but how would you describe yourself as a driver and would your
friends and family agree with that?
JOHN: It’s crazy as it sounds, everybody believes
that I’m a responsible driver even. When I was like 16, when I first started, I
remember, a friend of mine thought I was just like, it’s a group of us. He was
like, nobody can drive my car, but John, and in my head, I’m like, why did he
pick me?
All of us got
licenses. throughout my life, I would like to believe that everybody thought I
was responsible, even though I, these, these occurrences, I believe that if I’m
driving everybody falls asleep because they know that we’re going to get there
safely.
BHAVNEET: I guess it’s a really big compliment
that people can fall asleep while you’re driving, because then they feel
comfortable
JOHN: I’ll tell you this. In undergrad at
Michigan. Like we used to go to different schools. It’d be like an hour and a half
away. We used to go to their parties. of course, everybody wants me to drive.
Right. I’m tired. We just party. Now you want me to drive an hour?
I said, Hey, y’all
gonna have to stay up. everybody goes asleep. So I just turned the music all
the way up and I roll all the windows down and I push a lock on it. So it’s
freezing in the car. But, that was just me being a butt and I could have done
it without doing that, but who wants to drive at nighttime by yourself?
You got people in
the car and you, you tired. I guess it’s, it’s a compliment, but I didn’t look
at it that way then,
BHAVNEET: Yeah. Especially at night, if you’re
like just driving, it’s going to make you tired. If you see other people also
sleeping. You did mention you don’t get as much road rage or don’t get mad now,
but like, what would you say is your biggest driving pet peeve? What’s the
thing that really bothers you the most.
JOHN: My wife is going to see this hear this
my pet peeve is that everything makes her mad when she’s in the car. When she
drives she’s mad at everybody. And to me, I feel like road rage makes driving unsafe
for others. It’s not intentional of course, but a lot more accidents happen
when you are upset behind the wheel.
, you’re not
completely focused. Because I feel like they’re making the road unsafe for
others. And not only for others, your own self, and, just, I wish people got
behind the wheel with a more calm mind, I do have a pet peeve. I don’t like
when people,
They’ll they’ll
get over without a blinker. Like give me some warning, , I just feel like, did
you do that on purpose? Do you want me to crash? if you get over, like, that’s
why I said, I don’t like to tailgate at all, if somebody drives by me and they
get over without a blinker,
TARANJIT: yeah, a lot of people take driving for
granted until something does happen. I feel like that’s not safe in and of
itself because. You are driving this extremely dangerous, I guess, weapon, for
lack of better terms, because it can kill someone. It can kill you, it could
kill others.
So it’s very
important to be a hundred percent focused when you’re behind the wheel.
JOHN: Definitely.
BHAVNEET: So now that we know a little bit about
you as a driver, let’s go back to your driving first and how it all started. So
how would you describe your first time driving experience and who was it with?
JOHN: I started driving maybe about 14, I used
to live in this apartment complex where we had a circle and, I never thought
about driving. I just, I couldn’t wait until I turned 16 to drive. So I just
thought that’s when it was supposed to happen but father, he let me drive. He w
he taught me how to drive and was using both feet.
He’s not the best teacher in the world. He was
already a mean, man. My father was a mean, man. . So I was happy about me
learning to drive, but the way that he’s teaching me, it would make anybody nervous.
And I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t know how many times I drove before I knew
how to do it, but I was definitely driving well before I turned 15.
I remember he let me drive on the street and.
I was just talking to my wife about this too. He let me drive on the street. It
was at least five miles. It was only one. It was only straight though. It
wasn’t like had to make any turns or anything. was just stop at a light. He
wouldn’t let me use the music.
He said, you don’t
touch the radio. , keep both hands on the wheel. , , I didn’t go fast or
anything. I was just going to speed. Let me try to look up, tell him I keep
your eyes on the road.
And I’m like
looking at the speed limit to make sure I’m going correct speed. He’s like,
man, you can speed up a little faster than that. And I’m like, I don’t know.
Cause I don’t know what he wants from me. After that experience, I thought I
was supposed to drive all the time.
so he used to let
me wash his car and I could drive around the circle. So that’s how I got good.
I remember day , when he let me drive now, this is crazy. I know this is a
family show, but yeah, my father told me to go to the liquor store literally
it’s walking distance.
And I was like,
can I drive? was like, Hey, no, you can’t drive. He’s sending me to the liquor
store. I w I was, I was 14 going to get some beer for my father, but he won’t
let me drive after he just let me drive this like long strips on my head. I’m
thinking, I’m, I’m moving on up. Like, I’m, I’m responsible now, but he was not
letting me drive without him being in the car.
BHAVNEET: So you practice to learn driving with
your dad. So how would you describe the actual driving test experience? What
was that like? What did you have to do? And did you pass.
JOHN: Okay. So rewinding in Kentucky, you, you
can get your permit. You can’t get your permit until you turn 16 and then you
can, you can get your driver’s license 30 days after you pass your test. So I
failed my permit test, but I did not study at all. And my father., was so mad.
He was like, did you study?
I was like, no, I
thought I knew it already. And he was like, yeah, I’m not going to be bringing
you out here to be failing. And like I said, my father was a mean, man. I was
like, I guess I have to study. So when I pass the test and you can’t take the
test until like a week later when you fail it, it’s like seven days.
So I ended up
passing it again and I had to wait 30 days, my driving. I was really worried
because the car that we had, your car has to be, it has everything has to work.
you know, we weren’t the richest family. I know that maybe one of the brake
lights was out one of the blinkers didn’t work and I’m like, I’m not going to
get my license.
And I’m so
bothered now. But my father, borrowed his girlfriend’s car so I could drive.
The actual experience, , I was nervous. The most difficult part was the
parallel parking, but I did the parallel parking, but when it was over, he
said, that’s where most of my points came off because he said I did. I used
the, I turned, like I kept moving too much. I should have been able to pull up
and just fall right in on one try.
He said I was
doing too many tries, he was like, for the most part, I did a good job. I just
need to work on the parallel part. But to this day, I still hate parallel parking.
I compare a little part, but I still don’t like it.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. I feel like parallel parking is
one of those, one of the least favorite parking of most people. And I know here
in the U S now I feel like a lot of driver’s tests don’t require you to. Do
parallel parking on the test when we took it, it was there. But then when our
brother went to go take it, they removed it.
So I feel like the
driving test is so easy now and anyone can pass it.
JOHN: Dang. Took parallel parking out. That’s
interesting. I mean, well, I guess, you know what, um, don’t parallel park
unless I absolutely have to, like, I will look for something, so I don’t have
to, but here I got this little bitty car. I mean, like the car is really little
it’s the smallest vehicle ever.
And to parallel
park, embarrassing for me to not do it on the first try because my car is so
little privacy. I’m like, oh my gosh.
BHAVNEET: So what was the process like since you
learned to drive and got your license in the U S so when you moved to Abu Dhabi,
what was it like? Did you have to take a test there? Were you able to transfer
your license or what is it.
JOHN: Being American has its privileges. I’m
telling you it’s Western privilege over here. Meeting all these other people,
from different countries, they, it wasn’t like us. Like, we’d like all
Americans, if you got a blue passport, they will just that you just go get it
translated and do an eye test and then they just give you the license.
And it’s as simple
as that. And I’ve seen other people pay like thousands of dollars for license.
And, and I just can’t understand the class system of countries, I am definitely
happy about being American in that aspect.
BHAVNEET: So now that we’ve touched a little bit
on your past driving and your current driving, let’s talk a little bit about
the future of driving. So there is that possibility. There’s talks about it, of
self-driving cars becoming a part of our society. Maybe not immediately, but
sometime in the future.
What are your
thoughts on self-driving cars and would you get in one.
JOHN: Yes. I hate driving. I tell you this. If
I am able to afford, a vehicle that can drive on his own, will be my investment
because then I will definitely get miles on that car. Cause I’m going
everywhere. , I’m all for it. say. That machines can mess up.
People mess up
every day. would rather believe in of course, machines can mess up, but I’ll
take my chances with a machine is supposed to do this specific thing only
versus, people have all things going on in their head. think it would be a lot
safer, but I do believe that, you’re going to get a lot of, flag on, the
machine idea thing.
But yes, I would
love that I would do road trips all the time. Then literally would go to
California. promise I would do
BHAVNEET: Yeah.
JOHN: I want to do that now, but that means
I’m just going to stop every two and a half, three hours. So I wouldn’t get to
California and for like two weeks, because I just don’t want to do all that
driving, I will with a robot driving my vehicle or self-driving car.
BHAVNEET: Yeah. And
JOHN: What about you? guys?
BHAVNEET: , I feel like we are not quite
comfortable in getting in. Like if someone were to be like, okay, there’s
self-driving cars tomorrow. I don’t think I would get in one tomorrow. I would
have to see, it’s been tested. It’s proven to be working the way it’s supposed
to work before I let it drive me because my life is now in the hands of this
machine.
But at the same
time, I love driving. At this stage. I don’t mind driving long distances. So
like we drove down to Georgia. That was 13 hours. I drove the whole way,
I don’t know if
that’ll change, but right now I love it.
JOHN: Yeah. I guess because I just hate
driving. So the only reason why I care about driving more is because I don’t
want my wife to drive, but other than that, hate it.
BHAVNEET: Bonus question. Are you ready?
JOHN: Yes. Ma’am
BHAVNEET: If you could make one new driving law,
what would it be?
JOHN: Hmm.
BHAVNEET: It can be the most realistic or
unrealistic thing.
JOHN: Uh, driving LA um, I don’t know.
gosh,
BHAVNEET: What is something that really irks you
about driving?
JOHN: driving.
BHAVNEET: No, one’s allowed to drive.
JOHN: You know,, I wanted to drive at 14
because I really got good at driving. I feel like you should be able to drive
at a younger age if you can prove that you can drive.
And I know they
make exceptions for people. If they got like a handicap parent or the parents.
Oh but I feel like, if I could have driven early legally, like I would have
been, they would have do more things. I would have been exposed to a lot more
things and I know people would be like, You’re too young to be driving like
that regularly.
But I think at
that time, the way that I grew up, if I was able to drive earlier, I would’ve
been able to do lot more things to help enhance where I am in life. Now I don’t
think it should be the same test. I think it should be way more difficult test,
to prove that you are able and capable of being responsible.
BHAVNEET: Well, it’s actually, I mean, I think
that is a very good idea. Cause some people, like if you have that practice and
you’re really good at it, like you said, it really expands what you’re able to
do. And also takes that stress off. , I guess it’s like sophomore year, you’re
like, everyone’s, everyone’s getting their permit, everyone’s getting their
license.
And then you’ve
already got that practice and you don’t have to worry about it as much.
JOHN: Definitely,
BHAVNEET: So, what’s some advice that you might
have for either new drivers or other drivers out there?
JOHN: to be honest, follow the speed limit,
believe that you’re important enough people will be ever be at the destination
when you arrive. I think, , the people that have so much going on are driving
really fast. just feel like overall there’s so much going on in people’s lives
that they’re not being safe.
I don’t know. I
know how to tell you to be safe other than making sure you follow the speed
limit and, stay on the right side. Let the crazy people drive on the left side.
But yeah, the speed limit is real. You don’t get any tickets, , you don’t get
pulled over all over.
BHAVNEET: Okay.
JOHN: like if you just follow the rules, the
likelihood bad things happening is reduced, but once you start breaking the
rules, it endangers everybody on the road.
. I have a friend
who he loved to drive fast and he said, It’s a difference between who drive
fast and people who speed. says, I drive fast because that’s just what I do.
But people will be speeding because they’re in a rush that’s when accidents
happen.
And I was like, I
never thought about it like that. And I was like, but you can still get a
ticket. He was like, but I’m just telling you the difference between people who
speed and people who drive fast,
BHAVNEET: Interesting way to look at it.
JOHN: people will make anything work for them.
BHAVNEET: Yeah, I agree. But yeah, as you were
mentioning, those laws are put in place for a reason. Like there was a reason
that long was created to make driving safer. And if you are like, oh, well the
other drivers are going to get angry at me. Let them, let them go around, let
them figure out what they want to do.
You do what you
are comfortable doing.
JOHN: Definitely I’m a hundred percent
advocate for that. Like if more people accepted the responsibility of actually
following the rules, everything would be a lot safer. Not saying it would just
disappear, but would be less likely for accidents to occur. If people just
follow the rules.
BHAVNEET: Well, we really enjoy listening to all
your stories. And before we let you go, I know you have a podcast of your own,
so where can listeners find it?
JOHN: Diverse clarity podcast. on all major
platforms. We have a video podcast that you can see on YouTube. You can find us
on Instagram, diverse clarity..
We have thought
provoking conversations about things that matter and some that don’t
BHAVNEET: Well, thank you so much for joining us
today. Sharing your crazy driving stories and also sharing your experiences and
showing that you can change your mindset on driving and become a safer driver.
JOHN: definitely, I appreciate you guys. . And
I love the niche that you have with this because listening to some of them,
you’re like, people really have their own stories and it’s It’s remarkable.
So I really want
to, I want to say congratulations because it’s a really nice concept and listen
the way you guys work with each other. It’s it’s it really sounds good. You
know, I want to you well, and all of your endeavors
BHAVNEET: Oh, thank you so much for the kind
words.
JOHN: more than welcome.
(transition music)
TARANJIT: I felt like we could have chatted with
John for like ever and ever, like he was such. I dunno. I just love listening
to his stories and I feel like it just talked to, yeah. And I just, I feel like
he had so many stories that I just wanted to listen to them all, but we only
had so much time.
. I love how open
and honest he was with us. Like I said, in the beginning of this episode that
he. I was embarrassed to share some of his younger driving stories, but decided
to end up sharing them anyways, because he learned from his mistakes and he
felt like it was a great way for others to relate and also be able to grow as a
driver.
I know when you’re first starting to drive is
such a young age and you’re not fully. Mature yet. I don’t want to say this in
a negative way. Yeah. But physically, like biologically your brain hasn’t fully
developed yet. You’re still growing. So I can see how some of the things at
that age, you’re like, oh, this is great.
This is not going
to be a problem. But yeah. Looking back on your life. Wow.
BHAVNEET: I look, I’m not afraid of someone who
has road rage. Like what, what are they going to do?
TARANJIT: Uh, something on you. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.
But. Overall, I just loved all his messages. I feel like I can’t pick one to be
like, this is the message from this episode.
I feel like every
message he had was just great.
BHAVNEET: Agreed. Well, we hope you enjoy
listening to John’s driving stories. Let us know in the comments or on
Instagram, at drive with us podcast, if you could relate to any of his stories
and be sure to stay tuned until the end of this episode, to hear a sneak peek
of next week’s driver, Amy Scott from Mexico.
TARANJIT: Amy shared with us about the time her
cross country road trip was cut short. When a woman rear-ended her and totaled
her car a 48 hour last minute road trip from San Francisco to Cape Cod to
attend a wedding and getting road rage while her teacher was in the car.
BHAVNEET: Thank you for tuning in this week. And
if you enjoy this podcast, you can help support the show by sharing it with
your friends.
Or leaving us a review. It truly does help us
get discovered.
TARANJIT: Thank you for choosing to drive with us
and we’ll see you next week.
(outro music)
AMY: So I was driving from San Francisco to New Jersey and had just left Chicago and was mapping out my route on the back roads. This is 2005. So before cell phones and stuff, I had an Atlas actually spread across the drivers…
Not while I was driving, while I was at a red light. I remember I had the Atlas, like, spread across, like, okay, I’m gonna go up here and get on this blue highway.
And I got rear ended sitting at the red light, and I was moving, and I had a little hatchback. I had the back of the car was full of stuff and rear window shattered. I was just like, what am I supposed to do now?