Keep your hands on the wheel.

By: Dr. Richelle Galay ND

So this past long weekend the kids and I took a road trip to see my husband.  Mountains here we come!

We decided to rent a vehicle to do this because although my old stick shift jeep still has some life left in it, I wasn't sure it was up for such a trip.

So this new fancy vehicle we rent has all sorts of "driver assist" features.  And while I'm sure there is a way to turn them off I didn't take the time to do that.

One of the features is geared to help you "stay in your lane" while on the highway.  If it senses you are getting close to either the middle line or the shoulder line it shows all these reddish coloured notices on your dash and gently nudges your wheel back to centre.  Which to be honest threw me off a few times!  There were a few instances when it was wrong.  I was perfectly fine and just merging lanes but it was sensing that I was "crossing a line" I shouldn't have been.

Now the rebel that I am decided well what would happen if I just let go of the wheel all together? (sorry to all those squeamish rule followers).

You know what it did?  This fancy "driver assist" vehicle dinged a bunch of noises and sent a giant notification on the dash reading "PLEASE KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL".

Well duh car!

I'm the driver!  I am the one with the full view of the road ahead in all directions.  I'm the one who is able to decipher the nuances that you are not.

So dear reader, please remember that you are the driver.  Any practitioner (including myself), expert, support person you engage with is just there to "assist" you on the journey.  You are the one in control as you have the greatest vantage point.  

You got this; own it.

Keep your hands on the wheel.

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