For our third date, Rob and I were exchanging emails trying to figure out when we could meet to go for a bike ride.

It was getting rather complicated by email, so I said to call me. I would be in the car driving between 8:45-9:30, 10:45-11:30, 12:45-1:30, and 2:45-3:30. His response was “What are you a trucker”??

Haha. Well. Sort of.

I tend to drive a lot. A lot. Most people gasp when I tell them the mileage on our truck. What Rob didn’t know was that that schedule was my light driving day. I can often be driving 1.5 hours to a client. 30-45 minutes is nothing!

All that to say, I am on the road a lot. And I have decided that there is a lot you can learn about people from their driving skills.

Dare I say, a person’s personality is reflected in their driving.

The other day I was looking for a spot downtown outside one of my client’s condos. It is a particularly difficult place to find a spot, and often it takes me about 15-20 minutes to find one. I try to get there early to do this. Time was ticking, my appointment was in 5 minutes, and I saw a woman get into her car. I quickly came up behind her, feeling rather like a vulture, and put my signal on to take her spot. She saw me. She knew I was there. But, she proceeded to take a FULL 10 minutes chatting on the phone before she left her spot.

Now, I get that you shouldn’t drive while talking on the phone (she was on her headset but regardless, it’s not the safest). Yet she certainly could have pulled up into a spot that could not be used for parking and sit there and let me take the spot I was waiting for. But, she didn’t. Perhaps she still had time left on her ticket and wanted to take what was rightfully hers. Regardless of whether she was justified legally in being there (legally is always the lowest common denominator anyhow – doesn’t really make anything morally right), I just thought to myself I wonder what she is like in real life.

You see all kinds on the road: the tail gater, pressing you to go faster. The idiot swerving in and out of traffic only to get no where. The inconsiderate one who cuts you off or refuses to let  you in when merging. The distracted one checking their phones, driving over the lines, speeding up and slowing down.

I wonder what these people are like in real life?

Of course the argument can be made that perhaps someone’s driving is a reflection of merely how they are feeling in that moment – which is very plausible. I know I may drive faster, or more aggressively when I am feeling angry.

However, I really do think more can be read generally into someone’s driving skills. How we see the world can be reflected in the kind of consideration and courtesy we give other drivers, or how patient we are with other drivers, or how frustrated or angry we get with other drivers. If we are wondering how we truly feel, or how others see us, we may want to take a look at our driving skills.