Have you ever seen a novelty car? All of the parts on the car are original and serve a particular purpose while getting you from one destination to another.

Without all of the parts, getting to the particular destination is difficult, which raises an interesting question. If you have the part, why do you fail to use it?

Flashing lights from a squad car and damaged vehicles are common sights in the lanes of the Lloyd Expressway just east of campus.

Last week, I saw four wrecks on the mile stretch leading up to the University Parkway ramp, while avoiding a wreck myself because another driver was riding the bumper of my Mazda Tribute. I was running late to class, and I’m not sure if the driver following so closely was running late too, but is it worth getting in a potential wreck to get to class a few seconds earlier? The answer—absolutely not.

This is my final go-round here at USI, and luckily for me, I have yet to get in an accident on my way to campus. I take precautions though.

The aggressiveness shown by others trying to get to campus has me checking my rear-view mirror more than looking out my windshield.

If someone is being overly aggressive to beat me to the one open parking space on campus, I slow down and if people are stopped ahead, I provide plenty of room to break without having to leave skid marks on the road.

Driving bumper to bumper does you no good because you are only going to go as fast as the person in front of you. Driving on someone’s bumper will not get you to your destination faster, and if I’m the person that you are doing it to, I will slow down. Getting in a wreck because you are impatient isn’t worth it.

With as close as people follow each other, by the time you need to break, it will be too late to do it and you’ll smack into the backside of someone else’s car. We are all going to be late to class anyway because the nearest parking available on campus by mid-afternoon hours might be a few miles away. So relax, take your foot off the gas and use that novelty item, your car’s brakes.