Welcome to Man Talk. A ministry sponsored by TAWCMM. Talking and Walking Christian Men's Ministry. where we're devoted to breaking down the walls of race and denomination and to point men to their God-assigned roles.
Now here's your hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr. Welcome to Man Talk Radio. This is Roy Jones, one of your co-hosts this evening, and let me introduce Michael V. Hill. as our producer slash teammate board member of part of Talk'em.
And Michael, it's good to have you with us this evening. Thank you, Roya. Glad to be here. Appreciate the opportunity to to talk to the the men and Anyone else out there listening? Yeah, well, hopefully, we'll get a lot of people listening by the time we're done with this session.
Folks, we're going to do something a little bit different than we've done in the past. We're not going to get into a Bible lesson this evening. We're not going to talk about Men specifically, we're going to talk about driving, believe it or not. And uh this is Will was going to join us, but he's gotten tired up. If he's able to join us later, he may join in midstream here with us.
I know if you're like I am. Driving can be an extremely frustrating experience. One of comic, one of stress, one of disappointment, and just. It's never ending and it seems to have gotten worse. Would you agree, Michael?
Absolutely. It's one of those things that the older I get, I kind of wonder, it's like, oh, okay, that's what my parents were talking about.
Well, our question tonight is: are drivers, are they ever going to get any better? And my thinking is probably not because when we were growing up. Driver's Ed meant something, you know, you and you didn't have to do all the logging of ours that they've gone through here in North Carolina for a while, but I think they've even changed that now where you don't have to turn the log in. But you know, what you did do is you had practical experience. You spent quite a bit of time learning, probably even before you permit with your parents of how to drive a car, about courtesy.
And what we thought we'd do, just to get it started, I think, Michael, it's important that we go through the anatomy of a car. You know, let's talk about the different functionality that exists in the car. A lot of drivers these days just have failed to use or quit using or don't know how to use it.
So, why don't we give them a little bit of an opportunity to learn with us? And, folks, this is a little bit comical, but it's a lot serious too, as well. Because I think the more we can improve driving with the better our insurance rates will be, the better people will be courteous to each other, and the better society will be as a whole because people will be safer, they'll be taking care of each other and looking out for each other instead of some of the stuff we're seeing today.
Well, as an insurance agent, I can tell you I completely understand what you're saying when it comes to that. Yeah, and it seems like every year the rates just keep going up, and the people's driving never changes.
So they don't seem to understand the correlation between the bad driving behavior and the increased rates.
So, first, let's talk about the anatomy of a car.
So Michael, what's the first thing you think about when you think about the car? If you just look and create anything that comes to mind. For me, it would be the lights. The lights, okay.
So he's talking about headlights and tail lights, running lights, all that sort of stuff.
So let's talk about lights, folks. You know, a lot of states have a law that if it's raining, you're supposed to turn your headlights on. I don't know about you, Michael, but if I'm ever in a rainstorm or driving in the rain, every about sixth or seventh car, people don't have their lights on. And I mean, it could be almost dark from the clouds or the storm that's there, but they don't turn their lights on. And so, folks, turn your lights on.
Even if it's not a state law, it's a great safety idea. It lets people know that are passing you, coming through the same area you're coming through, that you're there. It gets dark, it's hard to see. People with lights can overlook those that don't have lights on relatively easy.
Well, that that's really easy to put as well, right? What's that? Made it really easy for us as well.
Now, you know, if you're driving a car that's 20 years or newer, There's a little button on your light when you turn it to A.
So they turn on automatically. Very good point, Michael. And the other folks, if you don't do that, then make sure you're utilizing the technology that you have available. You know, the other thing too is don't forget your running lights do not engage your taillights.
So, if you're working, if you're driving just for your daytime running lights, and this happens too, I've seen this many times. Be riding down to come in behind a car. There's no taillights on the car, and then you realize they're running with their daytime running lights because they can see in front of them, but they don't realize people can't see behind them.
So, folks, if you're running with your daytime running lights, We want you to be sure and turn on your regular headlights. in the dark or if it's raining so your taillights are equally as visible. Otherwise, you could get rear-ended if it's a bad enough storm, or even if it's dark enough, somebody just may run up on you and not realize you're even there. And so, that's a great safety point there. You need to be sure and run with the correct lights at the right time of day.
Now, speaking of lights. Bright lights. You know, just because you know how to use them. And you choose to use them, doesn't mean it's okay to leave them on continually.
So, especially at nighttime, you got your bright light indicator on. Be courteous to the drivers coming to you and turn the lights down. I can't tell you how many times I've passed trucks, cars, everything. Bright lights just fully engaged and they just keep driving. It's like I think they're trying to test you to see if it's going to bother you enough that you're going to flash them to get them to turn them down.
And I think people truly forget, right? They get so distracted in their driving. that yeah the pi beams on and they completely forget about it But these new HID LEDs that are in the vehicles, They can be very dangerous. Extremely. You know, and it's blinding so much so that you're exactly right, Michael.
So Let's talk about the vanity mirrors. and appropriately named, right? vanity mirrors How many times have you been riding behind a car and the car is kind of weaving in and out? You know, just not quite getting across the line, but you can tell somebody's distracted, and then when you finally get up. to pass them or you get up close enough.
guess what's going on inside the car. They're usually applying makeup or...
Something along those lines. You got their finger digging up there in their nose somewhere, too. Or they could be running an electric razor over top of their head or their face. It could be a guy doing it just as much as it could be a lady, but it's. It's a distraction.
And then we all know how, especially with the higher speed limits than many of us grew up with. Uh distraction creates a higher opportunity for an accident. Higher opportunity for death to occur. And of course, certainly an injury, even as bad as the death would be. And also, let's talk about the next thing, Michael.
What's one of your pet peeves when you're on the road?
Well, I always wonder if there's really a shortage of blinker fluid in this country. Yeah, you know that we as we're talking about the anatomy of a car. the turn signal switched. In case everybody doesn't know, that's that wand on the left-hand side of your steering wheel if you're driving on the left side of the car. But it's on the left-hand side of the wheel.
And if you push it up, you're turning right. If you push it down, you're turning left. Absolutely. And one of the things that I, you know. I've explained to Caleb as he's entering that age of driving, right?
As it's an indication of your action, it's not your action.
So you're not doing it as you're doing, you know, you're not engaging. You're letting people know that you're going to be making an action pretty soon. Yes. And you need to do it in adequate timing. You don't do it right as you're turning into the intersection that you're turning left or right in.
You do it, you know, I don't know what the actual number is. I haven't looked that up, but I would say at least 50 to 100 feet from your intended turn. Probably 100 would make the most sense because you can cover 100 feet pretty quick at even at 35 miles an hour. That's a great point, Michael. The turn signal.
And I often wonder. uh why people don't use it And they've just think it's okay to make a turn without signaling, and that's really a bad decision. because you could end up with a rear end collision and with today happen. all those cameras and cars, especially some of the newer cars. You know, that would be a hard one to justify when the officer sees you didn't use a signal and you created an accident.
So you would have some culpability within that, especially with today's insurance. the way they do things.
So Yeah, that's good, Michael. What else comes to mind when you think about driving?
Well, the other one, I guess, would be the people that either. like to take up the You know, that left lane and. go about 40 miles an hour, 20 miles below the speed limit. Yeah. That's another good one.
And, folks, you know, there's a reason that the signs on the highway say slower traffic, keep right. That's because they recognize in some situations, in some circumstances. that people are going to be running faster than the posted speed limit. Maybe traffic's moving at a higher rate, et cetera. And they want you to move us to move to the right-hand lane.
So it's a great, great, great point, Michael. Definitely get over on the right-hand side. That's one of the first things I taught my children. Was look, once you're done. proceeding past the car move over.
I said, and not to mention the fact that you're less likely to be seen. Uh on the fast lane. Or on the slow lane than you are in the fast lane. Even though if you're not speeding, if you're sitting out there in the fast lane, you could create a problem or an opportunity there. That's a very good point.
The other one that really gets to me is when people are following too close, Michael. And I know, folks, if you're listening, you probably think, oh boy, that just irritates me, or uh-oh, I'm the one that's falling too close. Hey, you should have multiple links, car links between you and the car in front of you, no matter if you're running 35 or 65. Of course, 35 you need less car links, but if you're running 65, you need more car links. That's for your protection and also for your dull motors protection Because you don't want to be involved in a high-speed accident that could have been avoided just because you're falling too close.
And folks, I know and we're all guilty of this, but there's more and more people that are following inside of one car length. At 60 and 70 miles an hour. And I mean, if something runs out in front of a car, or animal runs out, or somebody slammed on the brakes, there's no way that you can get stopped fast enough.
Now, with today's ABS and the computers, it might pull you out of it, but chances are if you're falling too close, you're still going to have some level of impact. Don't follow too close. remember what it's doing to the person you're riding up on top of. They're sitting there looking at a rear view mirror. They're checking their mirrors properly, and all they're seeing is your grill, if they can even see your grill.
They may not, I've been in situations, Michael, I know you have. where you can't even see the grill i mean all you see is the the hood of the car Uh through your w your mirror.
So that's pretty bad. Yeah, the old the old rule of uh thumb that I grew up with was For every 10 miles per hour, that's at least one car length if you're on the highway, right?
So, six miles per hour, give yourselves at least six car lengths. If the weather's inclement at that point, then give yourself a car length and a half for every. for every 10 miles per hour. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
And I will have to be able to see the the The tires of the car behind me in the rear view mirror. Yeah. Yeah. That least way you know you they're in the back. They're far enough back that you know that they're there in full full view.
So that's a good point. The other thing too is slamming on brakes in front of someone. you know and if you're the person's being followed Then it's a high probability that that's the first instinct you want to slam on brakes to get their attention. You know, a brake check just with the lights, they look back out. You know, these days, that's the road raid starter.
For whatever reason. And the person, what always amazed me, Michael, is this: it's the people breaking the law are the ones that get mad. You know, the ones that are running up on your rear end are the ones that get mad at you for tapping your brakes or you're not moving fast enough, or they pull around you and then they slam on their brakes, which is like. Just, it's bizarre, for lack of better terms, just bizarre.
So be careful about slamming on brakes in front of someone. That could definitely create some opportunity for accidents. Absolutely. All right, here's one, Michael. The over the last two to three years There's probably not been a single day that I haven't smelled marijuana.
In a car that I'm following, or and I even had Cheech and Chong come by my car one day up near the airport. I kid you not, and this is no exaggeration. There was so much smoke inside the cabin, I don't know how they would even see the drive, but I could smell the marijuana. Like nobody's business. Folks Driving while impaired is against the law.
Period. You don't have to debate it whether it's alcohol, whether it's marijuana, or whatever, or drugs of some sort. Driving while impaired is against the law. And driving while drinking is obviously against the law, but people seem to think that smoking dope and driving is not driving while impaired. I don't know about you, Michael, but it sure seems a whole lot more prevalent these days.
Oh, yeah, it's definitely one of those things that's. It has become very common. And it's and as you travel from state to state, you see that. It's not just a North Carolina problem. It happens everywhere you go across the country.
It is, and it's bizarre. And folks, You know, ever how you feel about it, that's your feelings. Most I'm hopeful and prayerful that most Christians and people that normally listen to us. don't even participate, don't support it, don't even think it's a good thing. Uh just And I don't know what you do about it, to be quite honest.
If you see it, I've seen it. Pointed it out to officers, and at times they just it's just like it's nothing, they can't do anything about it, or they've been told not to do anything about it. Texting while driving, that's another fun one.
Now, that's getting worse rather than getting better. I don't know if I'm driving in my pickup truck. It's amazing the number of people that pass me or either I'm passing that are using their phones, not just texting, but they're watching videos, because you can, especially at nighttime, you can see they're watching videos or their FaceTiming. They're holding their phone up and talking to people on FaceTime while they're driving.
Now A friend shared this a few weeks back, Marco, that One of his colleagues said they have a rule that when they get in the car, they put their, it was a lady that had shared her rule that she puts her phone in her pocketbook or purse. And puts it in the back seat so she can't get to it, turns the volume down so she's not distracted, not running Bluetooth.
So when she's driving, she's fully focused on driving.
Now, there was a time many years back when that's the way everybody drove. They didn't have phones to deal with. And when they first came out, they were so expensive, most people didn't dare just put them. call up somebody just for the sake of a conversation. They did it strictly for business and very rarely they do it while they were driving.
So please be careful. while you're driving stay fully focused don't text don't watch youtube don't do facetime while you're driving and uh These seem like very basic things, but folks, I'm telling you. Uh It's by the hundreds. Each month that I see all this stuff going on. Hence, why we thought we'd make a little bit of a funny show, but be very serious about it too, because we want to save your life and the people around you.
You know that distracted driving is the number one cause of car accidents today. Hmm. And I would assume fatalities as well, right? Absolutely. When you call automobiles, yeah.
Listen to that the number one cause of fatalities and accidents is distracted driving. And you know, one thing that most of us do and shouldn't do while we're driving is probably if we're on a long trip or whatever, we grab a hamburger and eat while we're driving or a chicken sandwich, whatever it happens to be. That's another area that you really need to be cautious about, because if you've got a hand tied up and you're worried about what you're eating. It's very easy to get distracted, which hence could result in an accident. And we're all guilty of it, right?
Mm-hmm. Yeah. So the other thing is tractor trailers. Um Now Folks, this is going to sound a little bit crazy, but tractor trailers have a gross weight rating of about 80,000 pounds. Cargo, roughly 40 to 45,000 pounds.
Tractor and trailer makes up the other 38 to 40,000 pounds.
So think about that. 80,000 pounds moving at 70 miles an hour, and you pull over in front of them. And then you decide to brake check the tractor trade or whatever because they've come up on top of you and aren't moving.
Well, be mindful that that tractor trailer cannot stop nearly as fast as you can stop.
So the chances are you could end up in a major accident if not even getting killed. With that type of driving.
So, but the flip side of that is be courteous of those drivers when they're trying to make a turn or they're. They're on the highway, be respectful of them and keep your distance so that's safe for you, safe for them. And if you're following a tractor trailer, the rule is if you can't see the mirror, they can't see you.
So, make sure you're far enough back that you can see their mirrors on one side or the other of their tractor, and you'll know they can see you at that point. And I've often said, Michael, that it would really be a good idea if Each driver, trainee. Had to learn, spend a day with a tractor trader driver. I. Those are getting ready to get their license, go spend the day with the tractor trader driver so they can see how difficult it is to stop the vehicles, what's involved with visibility, what's involved with making turns, all those things, because everybody's using something each day.
If not eating something each day that's been moved on a tractor trailer.
So it would really be a good learning curve for you to understand what those tractors are about and trailers. No, I think that's a great idea. It should be part of the driver's education curriculum. Yeah, I agree. It's long said that.
And plus, it may help introduce some young drivers to a career. of being a tractor trailer driver because you know now these year these days Uh, truck drivers make six figures plus, you know, and most all the driving jobs out there. I know UPS drivers do a lot of the LTL carriers make good money, so. It's an opportunity to move young folks into a new career.
So, they would have nearer the debt for coming out of college if they don't know what they want to do.
So, great opportunity. Lane changes. This goes back to the wand on the left-hand side. If you're changing lanes in the highway or on the, you know, just on city streets, be sure and use your signal. It's uh Back to Michael's earlier point, you're indicating what you're planning to do, not what you're in the process of doing.
So And oftentimes, micro people just change lanes, and they'll cut in front of you and change lanes. It's not just the changing of lane, not cutting in front of Sabai, but when you cut in front of the Sabai and And you don't signal, then you're putting yourself at risk and putting the car that's behind you at risk as well. It's usually, you know, the short amount of time that it takes to be courteous that way. You're not saving much time, right? By cutting in front of someone.
And they've showed that statistic. I don't know if you've ever seen that, but you know, if you're trying to get across. Greensboro, and you got a person that's weaving in and out of traffic versus the person that's going to speed limit. put in their signal, everything like that. The total difference in time saved.
is typically a minute or less. Then that's risking your life worth a minute, of course not.
So, good point, Michael.
So, just do it the right way to begin with, and then be courteous in the process.
So, and that brings up another point: what does it mean to be courteous as a driver? I know everybody on this call or on this listening out in the audience today has had an opportunity where you've probably gone to a Costco or a Sam's or. Or even just a grocery store and Traffic's really bad within the parking lot, so Do you let people in? Do you take turns allowing other cars to come into the intersection, or do you just keep bumper to bumper so that the people that are trying to get out can't get out? And what we'd like to encourage everyone to do is to show more courtesy in the parking lots.
Show more courtesy on the roadways, allowing people to merge, allowing people to come into intersections, and in the parking lots, allowing people to actually get out in the main road. Rather than just going bumper to bumper. If you've been to Costco, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Well, I mean, let's even just take it back a little bit more, right? Leaving your church service on Sunday. You've been to either a large insurance or heavily attended. Right. especially during the holidays, we're now holiday season.
And you are, you know, you're. You're inside church. You've just heard a great message. You go outside and now people aren't moving as quickly as they should, right? Got a lot of elderly people walking across the road, whatever the case is, and you're trying to get out of there so you can get your cracker barrel and beat the rush.
It's not worth it, you know? Just. Take a little bit extra time. And I'm one of those people that I hate lines. I truly do.
I'll be the first to admit, I hate a line, but. It doesn't take much to be courteous. Exactly. And you know what I found, Michael's like if we use the Costco, for instance, or any other place, and there's a heavy traffic pattern. Once one person starts opening up, then the car behind you will typically follow suit.
And create a gap for the person that you've just let in, and the one that's sitting behind the one you've just let in.
So that's something that you know it kind of.
Well will yield kindness. And if we don't show kindness, then we won't yield kindness.
So that's a good point, Michael. And, folks, let's be honest. we as followers of Christ should be demonstrating what kindness looks like. love your neighbor that that's what you're doing when you're showing kindness you're showing patience So be sure and think about that next time you're in Costco or in a shopping center or a heavy traffic pattern, somebody's trying to get out and don't run up on the bumper in front of you. Open it up and let somebody get out.
And then If you're that person that's been let out. What's the thing that you'd like to see, Michael? It's a hand gesture with a wave just saying thank you. Rather than just not even acknowledging the fact that somebody's interrupted their flow to let you in.
So there's two sides to that coin: being courteous to let people out, but also if you're one of the ones being let out, Demonstrate that kindness back to the person that's let you out. Throw up your hand, give them a smile, whatever, say thank you, whatever you can do to indicate that. Absolutely. And on the same vein of being courteous. Uh, and this works really well with truckers: is if you see a truck driver trying to get back into the right lane.
You know, go ahead and give them a quick flash with your high beans. Let them know that the lane is open. And a lot of times you'll see a truck driver tap on their brakes a couple times just to let you know, hey, thank you for letting me in the lane, right? And the same thing goes on the other side. The truck drivers are probably the most.
Um, notorious when it comes to that, and they will acknowledge anytime that someone has been courteous to them. Yeah, that's a good point, Michael. And they actually have a switch on there that's a flash blinker switch that it breaks the light on the marker lights. It just they flip it up and down a couple of times so they don't have to hit the brakes and get you upset as a motorist that they're trying to brake check you. You know, so that Pedestrians, that's the other thing about church you mentioned, Michael, but also in the shopping centers.
You know, pedestrians have the right-of-way, and if it's a marked right-of-way, so you need to be sure and be conscious of that. And be careful that you're not going too fast in these parking lots. My wife and I were coming out of Costco not too long ago, and I keep using Costco because that's our most. shopped place I guess that's got a lot of traffic. Uh and the guy Pulled right, I mean, right through us.
We were crossing the crosswalk, and had I not stepped back or had I kept going with the cart, it would have run right into the side of his vehicle. No, and then just pulled literally another eight yards and pulled into a parking space rather than just stopping, allowing us to cross. Me by myself not such a big deal, but the fact that my wife was with me. You know, you take on a different posture when you're protecting your family than if it's just you. And it was just very disappointing to see somebody behave that way.
So be sure and watch out for pedestrians.
Now back to what we were talking about earlier, Mike, was the slow lane and the fast lane. Uh You know, of course, as followers of Christ, we should be not. We shouldn't be breaking the law. We should be following the law.
So run the speed limit. If you choose not to run the speed limit and you're in a fast lane, that's your choice. But please don't go slow in the fast lane because that's going to make some people mad.
So better to move over and keep yourself safe. And that does Tracted driving as well though. What's that? A lot of times people are going slow in the fast lane because they're distracted with their driving. Exactly.
Well, and folks, if you've not watched it or witnessed it, if you're distracted, um or haven't done it then if a person's distracted they're covering All the real estate between the two lines, and sometimes going over the lines and uh. And even hitting the rumble, the rumble patterns, et cetera, et cetera.
So, those are definitely possibilities. And please be careful. Good point, Michael.
Now, let's lastly, let's talk about schools and And school zones, you know, there's two things that carry the highest amount of insurance points, and you can speak to this, and driving points. One is if you run a stop sign. That carries high points because of the risk and danger, but the highest is running a school bus, stop school bus. And or going to a school zone, breaking the speed limit during the school zone hours.
So folks, just be very conscious. We're in the middle of the season with the days are shorter. Kids are out and it's dark. Buses are running, you know, way before daylight, and then after dark. delivering some of these Children out to these extended routes.
So please, please be careful. Watch after them and watch after the buses. Yep, it can uh It can definitely save a life and I've seen it multiple times where People have blown around a you know a school bus and the kids are walking across And the person that's breaking the law ends up hurting themself because they're trying to swerve out of the way. Yeah. Good point, Michael.
Well, Michael, do you have anything else you want to share with our listening audience about driving or experiences, etc.?
Well, just take time, plan your route. Know and if you're going into a place that you're unfamiliar with, give yourself a few extra minutes. If you're going to a different state, plan ahead, right? And that'll help. With a lot of these things, you know, because then you'll.
You'll have the foresight to be like, okay, I need to plan, give myself 15 extra minutes to get to wherever I'm going. Or, you know, look at, you know. The traffic beforehand, and all apps are great about it, right? Like, you can plug your Your route in there, and you can see where the heavy traffic is going to be.
So you can plan for that instead of behind the eight ball and going to be late because you didn't plan for traffic.
So now you're trying to weave in and out of traffic or whatever the case may be. Yeah, that's a great point, Michael. And that's with today's technology, you can get a lot of that stuff ahead of time. And even once you're in route, if something changes, somebody has an accident, you can see that, and they'll start to route you in an alternate plan to avoid the delays. which keeps you safe.
Very good point, Michael. Well, folks, you know, a lot of this is basic stuff and you would think it's common sense. And we know it all is common sense, but sometimes we forget it because the less strict the law enforcement is about these things, the more loose people get with it. And obviously, with the law enforcement pressure the way they are these days with all the other issues. Oftentimes, they don't necessarily pull somebody over when they see it, and plus, the fact that the sheer volume of traffic is higher, and they're not as exposed to seeing people make mistakes or break the law.
Be safe. It's all out of A little bit of humor, but a whole lot of care for each of you that we want to just polish up on some of the things that we should know and probably do know, but sometimes gets out of our. out of our purview related to our day-to-day driving habits.
Well, Michael, thank you for joining us today. And, folks, we just appreciate it.
Sorry, it's been a while since we've been back on the air, but we should be with more regularity moving into 2026. Michael is going to be producing force and We're excited to have him and we'll be looking forward to getting Will back on deck in our next call. Appreciate you coming, Roy. Thank you. Yes, sir.
You have a great. God bless everyone. Michael, you want to close us in prayer right quick? Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to come together tonight and just have this time where. where we can have a little bit of Comedy in our life, right?
When it comes to the important matters, and just really bring some light to some serious. issues but with with a comedic tone And you know, this is a great message for us to do tonight, especially with the weather that's coming in. But it's just one of those things that stands the test of time, right? Be courteous. Do unto others as ye wish done unto you.
And, you know, just be out when you're out there, look out for your fellow man. And let's just have that. attitude of gratitude and practice what we preach. Lord, watch over all those that are going without. Watch over all the travelers as they're making their way around the holidays.
And Lord, we thank you for everything that you continue to do for all of us. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. As we conclude today's show.
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