When I turned 16 I got my driver’s license. I loved driving back then. Now, though, when I am driving the car, I get bored.
The radio doesn’t help as much as it did when I was 16. Listening to current music or radio talk people telling me how I should think doesn’t cut it for me anymore. But I have found that if I can keep my mind occupied on something as I am tooling along, the drive is more tolerable. Mental exercises often work. Games are good.
Becky and I play a game where we try to make a word that includes the three seemingly random letters that appear on most Indiana license plates. In our game the letters must be in the same order in the word as they are on the plates. Long words are encouraged. Unusual words get special kudos.
That is one game that helps pass the time in the car. And what kid hasn’t been warned, when on a long, tedious ride, to stop arguing and whining and instead play the Alphabet Game? “Call out when you see a sign with an A, then a B, and so on to the end,” Mom explained. It seemed to calm the chaos for a while.
The other day I was driving by myself. My mind was especially restless, so I started inventing games to play in the car. I came up with a few bare ideas and rough sketches.
The Political Sign Search. In this game participants receive points for the number of political signs they spot along the road. One point for each sign spotted during the run-up to the election. After election day points are determined by the number of days or weeks the signs remain up.
The Dodge the Pothole Challenge. Drivers are awarded points for a pothole successfully avoided while points are subtracted for each pothole the driver hits. Depth of the hole and severity of damage could be reflected in the score. Game over when a wrecker is called to tow the car.
Spot the Cell Phone Scofflaw. This game came about when I was behind someone who didn’t make a turn because he was apparently distracted while talking on his phone. A simple game would to be to tally the number of people you notice who are on their phones while the car is in motion. A variation would be to score points by spotting people who are texting while waiting at a stoplight. Bonus points could be earned by swerving to avoid those people who are texting while their car is in motion.
The Turn Signal Tournament. Another simple tabulation game. Score a point for each time a driver fails to use a turn signal. Extra points could be awarded when the use of the signal would have been especially helpful to others making their own driving decisions.
The Bumper Sticker Squint. This game has many variations. Points could be awarded based on the cleverness of the sticker’s statement. A tally could be compiled of every sticker promoting a professional sports team, or local school awards, or number of people and pets in the family or miles run in marathons. Messages that are too small or have too many words to read safely would have their own special category. A challenging game and a good conversation starter would be for each passenger to offer a reason why the political bumper sticker in question is or is not a reasonable statement. The possibilities for bumper sticker games are numerous.
These are just a few games I came up with, maybe you can think of some more. With all of the games now at my disposal, I am almost looking forward to my next long driving trip. Almost.
