Go instantly when the light turns green

One part of the good, spiritual life is to slow down and "go placidly among the noise and the haste". When it comes to driving in congested areas, I think this is bad advice in certain respects.

A lot of the time, I find myself in traffic and fervently wishing that the traffic would move faster so I can get to my destination more quickly. Such is modern life. I do usually succeed in not getting very upset about delays.

Yet some drivers are relaxed in unhelpful ways. One example is delays in starting up when the light turns green. Some might figure selfishly that surely they will get through the light, even if their speed can affect how many people behind them will. In the modern era, it seems like some have used the time at the red light to do something on their phones, and take a precious few seconds to finish up. Some just let their attention wander. I feel that in congested conditions drivers should be ready to go instantly when the light turns green. We expect drivers to react instantly to dangerous situations when their car is moving, so why can't we expect them to react instantly to a green light? The more people who react instantly for purposes of traffic flow as well as safety, the faster everyone will get where they are going. And whatever your spiritual goals, most of us, most of the time, are actually in a hurry.

A related issue is pedestrian behavior. I often walk at a leisurely pace, and on most sidewalks that doesn't slow anyone else down. Sometimes it is time to cross the street at a crosswalk. Cars must stop for a pedestrian. Once they are stopped, I as a pedestrian have the right to cross in a leisurely fashion. Yet I usually hurry across, and I wish other people would as well. To me, the ultimate in this one small aspect of enlightenment is to walk slowly on the sidewalk, hurry across the crosswalk, and then immediately start walking more slowly again.

I think I've even observed a social custom. Some pedestrians hurry in a certain way, especially when they just start crossing, and I speculate this is a social signal indicating their willingness to do their part to help the drivers get going again quickly.

Go at a leisure pace (placidly) when it doesn't adversely affect others. Go quickly when being slow would slow others down, in a world where most people are in a hurry. Speed for the right reasons is consistent with placidity.