When I am driving I often find myself wondering a number of things about the drivers on the road with me, but most frequently: why is their time more valuable than mine? Or, why do they think (insert driving rule) doesn't apply to them?
After driving frequently enough, I found myself realizing that one bad driver (by bad I mean the practice of negligence for driving laws or even just common courtesy), can literally ruin a commute.
This thought itself brought me to obsess about a philosopher, whose name escaped me, that I learned about in a college course forever ago. Finally, after googling philosophy to death, I realized it was Brad Hooker and theory of rule consequentialism.
This theory basically says "follow rules' because they are the law rather than use reasoning that justifies you doing something because as one person, it won't impact those around you.
Take for example (non-driving related) there is a drought which stipulates you cannot water your lawn for two weeks - don't be the one idiot in the neighborhood that thinks it's okay to water your lawn because you are the only one doing so BECAUSE everyone in the neighborhood could actually use that same logic. Rather, don't water your lawn because it is a rule.
Back to driving. One person who neglects to use the left lane for passing while driving 10 MPH below the speed limit WILL EFFECT the other drivers around him. If the left lane is a passing lane, use it as that OR if you are a pokey driver, stay out of the left lane. This one person has the power to make a few hundred other drivers 10 minutes late to work.
Get my drift? Perhaps if we applied Hooker's theory to all aspects of our lives, there would be less corruption, less annoying commutes and less daily annoyances.
When it comes down to it, it's just common sense because, in all reality a law is a law, and none of us are above the law.
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