Reckless drivers are so memorable. I’ll never forget the person who used to pass me on double lines and in curves every single day on my morning commute, regardless of whether there was any oncoming traffic. I knew that car every time I saw it flying towards me in my rearview mirror.

Of course, it’s hard to forget something that happened every day. But even reckless drivers we only encounter once are not easy to forget either. The car that cut you off in traffic is probably going to be the first thing you mention if anyone asks you “how was your drive home?”

The not-reckless drivers, on the other hand, are forgettable and never get any credit for good behavior. You don’t often hear somebody say “let me tell you about this car I saw on the way home who obeyed all the traffic laws!”

(You don’t hear this probably because you didn’t realize they were driving safely as you zoomed past them.)

So I’d like to take a moment to salute those long-suffering good drivers. Those people who aren’t prone to road rage and just go with the flow of traffic wherever they are. They deserve a gold star, despite the fact that they’re merely following the rules… which is what we all should be doing.

Let me say thank you:

Thank you to the drivers who patiently drive no more than five miles over the speed limit. They simply enjoy a casual drive without needing to get anywhere in a hurry. They don’t even mind riding behind a slowpoke—at a safe distance!—until there’s enough open road to pass.

Thank you to the drivers who know where the turn signals are in their car. (For reference, they’re the things that make the fun clicking noise when you use them. Perhaps try testing them out once in a while.)

Thank you to the drivers who like to drive in their designated lane, eschewing the temptation of hovering in the middle of the road. It might be fun, sure, to swerve all around the highway like an extra in a Fast and Furious movie, but these drivers would rather just watch the movie in the theater.

Thank you to the drivers who don’t overload their cars and trucks with an unreasonable amount of items tied to the back or to the roof. And when they do cart around some extra items, they make sure to secure everything properly just in case of any sudden gusts of wind. There’s nothing more annoying than having to dodge patio chairs flying out of the back of someone’s truck.

Thank you to the drivers who save their morning routine for the bathroom instead of during their morning commute. They don’t try to apply mascara while changing lanes or brush their teeth using the rearview mirror or any other ridiculous thing you definitely shouldn’t be doing in your car. They only focus on driving and nothing else.

So thank you again to all the cautious not-reckless drivers out there who aren’t always in road rage mode.

In this area of the world, we can’t get many places without driving during some part of our day. So please take a moment to extend some courtesy to the courteous drivers out there.

Holly Taylor is a staff writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or by phone at 252-332-7206.