Generalizations - those theories about other people that almost cost me our lives

I have a theory about guys who drive pick-ups because it’s not often women who drive them and when it is, I figure nine times out of ten, it wasn’t her choice or she owns a horse. I see moms trying to hoist a baby seat into the cab and I think, My God, there must be another way. Like a van or a car. For guys, there’s the young ones who drive like mad men on the highway, in the city and town passing everything in sight. There’s the farmers, practically oblivious to all other traffic on the road, varying speed depending on their mood and then, amongst the farmers, there’s the old ones, averaging ten to twenty kilometres below the speed limit. Finally, there’s the regular guys who drive like everyone else only in a pickup.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I are driving to Edmonton from Slave Lake and we’re about twenty kilometres south of Westlock and behind a truck doing about 85 kilometres an hour. And I think, “old farmer.” Far ahead, I see a pick-up parked on a side-road but he’s not turning. There’s space to pass and the centre line is dashed so I do. As I pass, the “farmer” speeds up. I think, What the fuck! So, I look over to see who’s driving. It’s a guy, white, ball cap, forty-something. And I don’t know why, instead of a glance, I give him more of a stare but he’s oblivious. So farmer, I think. After all, the pick-up is functional, not fancy like the urban cowboys like to drive.

Suddenly, my wife, Nicola, yells, Look out! And I turn my head forward just to see the black pick-up turn right into my lane only metres in front of me. I swerve out of the way and avoid a collision but just. We’re a little shaken because Nicola had been scrolling through Facebook on her phone (as she’s prone to do) and just glanced up at the last second. It was all very unnerving.

And I think, Why was I looking at the guy? ‘Cause I was testing my theory. He’s a farmer, oblivious to the road, becomes aware of a faster moving object passing on his left and speeds up. And then I think, that’s stupid. He could just as easily be a teacher driving home after work, still rattled by a disobedient, disrespectful class he taught at the end of the day. Or, a nurse whose favourite patient passed away. Or a businessman, who’s just been given some bad news from his accountant. Or, he could be a farmer oblivious to the road because he hardly ever drives or just doesn’t care.

Maybe I should stop generalizing, I think. If I hadn’t been testing my theory, I wouldn’t have been looking at the guy. I would have been concentrating on the road. Maybe, I should treat other vehicles on the road as the lion does, like creatures, independent of the beings inside them. Forget trying to predict the driving behaviour of someone by their superficial appearance. Just react to the vehicle, not the individual in control of it.

But then I think, can I? Can any of us stop making generalizations about other people? Recently, I read a book called “The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols. Basically, he was reacting to the declarations of “fake news” being spouted by politicians, the media and the public in general. Much of this he believes arises from a disrespect for expertise. People prefer conspiracies spread on the internet over fact based news because they are a way for the ignorant to explain away circumstances beyond their understanding. He argues that science speaks of probabilities which makes people uncomfortable and provides an added advantage to the quacks who speak of absolutes. He also separates generalizations from stereotypes. Generalizations can be measured and proven or disproven while stereotypes are conclusions. That’s how I rationalize my conclusions about other drivers on the road; they’re generalizations, not stereotypes. I am open to changing my mind. I am simply testing my hypothesis with observation.

That said, I’m not doing it anymore. (Or at least I’ll try.) When driving in the future, I will attempt to treat other vehicles on the road as the lion sees the jeep full of tourists on the savannah . . . as things. I will endeavor not to generalize about those who drive them. Even those in pick-ups.