How to Tell If People Ever Have Owned a Boat

It's not a theory I can prove, but I believe you can tell by watching how closely they follow vehicles towing a trailer. And I'm not the only person who thinks that way. I was talking to a friend just the  other day who echoed my sentiments.

As luck would have it, I had some fresh encounters that only served to bolster my theory just yesterday.

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I seldom take my boat off the West Neck Marina property. About the only time it happens any more is when I have to carry it to my mechanic so he can repair something, as was the case yesterday. The automatic float on my bilge pump had come loose from its mounting. And after the incident I had a few years ago that ended up as fodder for a story by Lee Tolliver in The Virginian-Pilot Sports pages, I wasn't about to take any chances on a repeat performance.

So about 1:15 yesterday, I headed out of West Neck Marina, en route to my mechanic's house, and in no time, I was encountering the usual crop of drivers who insisted on riding the boat's transom. It truly baffles me why people are so hell-bent on jeopardizing their own safety and that of everyone else around them while behind the wheel of a car. Surely they realize you simply can't stop on a dime, whether you're towing a trailer or not. The chart that follows should help put things in perspective.

Of course, anyone who lives around here knows that tailgating is a common practice. It's almost as though some drivers figure if they ride your bumper long enough, you'll eventually pull over and give them an open road.

As far as I'm concerned, though, my philosophy is that, as long as I'm traveling the posted speed limit, you can ride my bumper from now 'til doomsday, and I won't budge, especially when I'm already in the slow lane.

A statistic provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demonstrates that nearly one-third of all rear-end collisions in the United States is caused by tailgating. In Virginia, a tailgating violation results in the additional charge of reckless driving, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Penalties for a conviction can include up to 12 months in jail, heavy financial fines, a six-month license suspension, and a permanent black mark on your criminal record.

Seems like a good reason to me to check your bad driving habits at the door, but what do I know? I once had a young fella look me in the eye during an interview and tell me that he was certain he could handle a car better at 80 mph than most people can at 40. I chalk up those differences of opinion to a saying I first heard many years ago: It takes all kinds to make a world.