Are You a "Gabriel" Driver?

                                                                      by

                                                               Dallas M. Roark



        YOUTHFUL DRIVERS SHOULD be the safest on the road-but they're not!" said Iowa's safety education director in a recent speech. In spite of the spread of driver training in high schools, young drivers are not doing the best job they can. In fact, statistics prove that the average Dad, who chauffeurs the jalopy six times as many miles as Junior, has fewer accidents than Junior does. In the state of Iowa alone in one year drivers under twenty-one were re­sponsible for fifteen per cent of the fatalities on the road, while they held only three per cent of the state's driver licenses.

       Having observed the driving peculiarities of my fellow students, I am inclined to agree with any statements which point up youthful recklessness on the highways. A low slinky con­vertible seems dynamic as it barrels down the street after one has picked up his date for the evening. And the backfiring of a motor as one roars to a stop sounds tremendous to the mechanical minded.

        But as a Christian where does one draw the line in this motoring game?  Where does one assume a rational attitude? What does one do with his courtesy when he places himself in control of two tons of streamlined iron? Is it right for the Christian to become thoughtless, reckless, or cantankerous just because he slides under the wheel of an automobile? Does the Christian coIlege student have the right to throwaway all his  past training the moment he sees a dashboard in front of him?

        For whatever it's worth, let's observe some student drivers' peculiarities.

        First, there is the student who thinks that he is Gabriel--he's always blowing his horn. I suppose one could say that he has "hornitis." There is the Gabriel who parks outside his friend's house ( often his girl friend's) and sounds forth his Morse code signal by way of his car horn. This might be excused by his friend but the neighbors find it pretty hard to take. This same Gabriel also thinks that girls, particularly nice-looking ones, like to be tooted at as he roars by in his chariot.

        Then there is another variety of the disease "hornitis." It attacks the fellow who is waiting for the red light. He might be called "the split­second GabrieI." A split-second has been defined as the time that lapses between the turning of the stop light and the blowing of his horn.

         Further, there is the student driver of the Jehu-type. When Joram, king of Israel, was recuperating in Jezreel, the Lord sent Jehu to execute judg­ment upon him. A watchman noticed a company of men approaching and exclaimed, "The driving is like the driving of Jehu: ... for he driveth furiously" (2 Kings 9:20).

        Speed is one of the killers on the road. In western Tennessee several years ago, a young college student was hurrying back to school with three others with him. As he drove over the strange road at a ferocious speed, he smashed into the side of a concrete bridge and all four of the young people in the car were killed.

        We must not overlook the student who misinterprets grace in his driv­ing. He has learned that grace means that the law is abolished. When a sign says "35 mph" according to law, "under grace" he can do fifty. A "Slow-School" sign denoting "15 mph" according to law can be revamped into at least twenty-five "under grace." A suggested "40 mph" curve under the law can be taken on two wheels "under grace."

        Then, there is the Christian who has learned the principle of "spirit­ualization." As he sat starry-eyed in his Sunday school class, they were talking about prophecy and he didn't get much of it except the one little principle of "spiritualization." The teacher explained it like so: "The prophecies of the Old Testament re­ferring to Israel do not now refer to her, but spiritually to the church." And so the student grasped this great principle and now applies it to his driving. To him a "Stop" sign doesn't mean to stop any more; its letters spiritually mean "Speed Through Open Places." A "Slow" sign doesn't mean to slow down any more; by "spiritualizing," its letters mean "Speed
Limited On Wednesdays"-for that's when the patrolman sits around the corner. And this Mr. Collegian re­flects that "it's too bad that the patrolman never had a chance to get a college education."

        Have you been smiling as you have read this? Do any of these descriptions fit you? I hope you're not one of those who place a sign like "I went to church Sunday, did you?" on their car and then' drive like the devil himself.

         Will you be one of those respon­sible for or involved in the death of the approximate three thousand people who will lose their lives through an automobile accident this month? Do you realize that in America during this year approxi­mately forty thousand people will lose their lives because someone was drunk, careless, or neglectful while driving. Make sure that someone isn't you.

        If you are a Christian and a young driver, you have every reason to be an exemplary driver. Will you set the right pace--the lawful and thoughtful pace--for others to follow when you hit the highway or cruise the street in your automobile?