If we were to make a movie about city drivers, we would probably be able to come up with a lot of characters to portray the different kinds of motorists that we encounter on the road everyday. Based on actual observation and a bit of creative thinking, the cast of characters are likely to be the following:

'Road Hog' - The commonly known road hog is that person we see on the road driving well below the minimum speed limit. On a congested highway where you have bumper to bumper traffic, there are times when we see the cause due to one or more road hogs leading the pack. Road hogs often stay in the fast lane or extreme left lane on a main road or highway. These characters either do not know road rules and what the lanes are for, or simply think that they are driving fast enough for the speed limit.

'Dart man' - The 'dart man' or woman as the case may be, loves to dart. We see this motorist entering a highway or main road from a side road then immediately darting to the fast lane. As a result we see other vehicles swerving or braking to avoid hitting this 'dart' expert. This character apparently doesn't know that on entering a highway from a side road, we have to initially stay on the right side or outermost lane of the highway, pick up speed, and then gradually change lanes when the highway is clear.

'Lost' motorist - This motorist is 'lost' since he/she can't seem to stay within a lane of a road or highway and actually stays 'on the line'. As a result, this 'lost' motorist ends up occupying two lanes, confusing other vehicles and contributing to congested traffic flow. Other vehicles tend to overtake this 'lost' motorist left and right. The 'lost' motorist either has no sense of estimation, or is just unaware of what the lines on the highway are for.

'King of the Road' - This character feels that he/she 'owns' the road and does not think of other motorists' convenience. We see the 'king of the road' maneuvering his/her vehicle on a two way street in order to go to the opposite direction. Traffic flow tends to slow and stop to accommodate this motorist who attempts to maneuver his car by going forward, backward, and so on, just to face the other direction, while everyone else waits to pass. The proper and courteous way for this character would be to go to a side street, parking lot or gas station, do the maneuvering there, then proceed back to the two way street and to the direction he/she wanted to go. This way traffic flow would not be too affected.

'Haphazard driver' - This character loves to make sudden turns or lane changes without looking - he/she simply turns their signal lights on and expects other vehicles in the back to either let them pass or honk their horns. Of course, the safest way is to always look first before making any turns or lane changes, and not rely on signal lights alone.

'Out of this curve' driver - This driver has a tendency to get out of lane when driving on a curve or while taking a u-turn slot. He/she ends up occupying the other lanes as they make the curve, thus prone to accidents such as side collisions with other cars driving alongside them.

'Spontaneous Parker' - This motorist usually parks in a haphazard way - either out of position, crookedly parked, or not within the lines of a parking slot. Usually, other cars attempting to park their vehicles tend to follow the previously parked car. If the first car happened to be that of our character, then the rest of the cars tend to follow suit. Parking chaos!

'Speedster' - These are our regular speed freaks who think that the main road or highway is a Formula 1 racing circuit. Seeming always in a hurry, the speedster does not follow any speed limits. According to one speedster, 'The signs are only for decoration'.

'Snake driver' - The vehicle we see on a main road or highway weaving in and out of traffic is usually that of our 'snake driver'. Usually where there are 'road hogs' there are snake drivers since the latter wants to get to his/her destination on time and ends up overtaking the road hogs and 'haphazard drivers' left and right.

'Driver Do-Right' - Of course, this character follows all road rules and always drives defensively with safety in mind. Thus far, 'Driver Do-Right' is an ideal, but if ever there is such a person in real life--congratulations and keep up the good work! On the other hand if we have been or are guilty of acting like a road hog or snake driver or one of the other characters, then it's up to us to 'do right' the next time we find ourselves in similar situations. Drive surely and safely!

Which character would you be?

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