After numerous accounts of nearly being obliterated by drivers who forget to look before passing, almost being stricken on my bicycle, and getting stuck behind bafflingly slow drivers, I started to wonder: Is it just me, or is Santa Barbara saturated with reckless drivers?

Maybe it’s a coincidence and I’ve had a three-year bad luck streak, but it seems like every time my Volkswagen and I venture out, everyone in the area comes together with the grand plan of running us off the road.

But driving is boring, and multi-tasking is challenging. Everyone knows that the best time to do your makeup, talk on the phone, or eat, is while at the wheel. Plus, how could someone possibly focus during the five minute drive to Trader Joe’s?

Luckily, this is what we have horns for, right? To warn drivers and prevent potential accidents.

Unfortunately, my car, “The Midnight Rider,” has a broken voice box, and screaming while flailing your arms out the window isn’t an effective strategy.

Needless to say, I drive with caution.

Especially since the roads here are filled with tourists. And of course, instead of pulling over to get directions, they talk on their phone going 5 mph in a 25 mph zone, cut others off, and have the nerve to honk at them. Seriously, pull over, or invest in a fancy GPS! It will save both you and your fellow drivers a lot of frustration.

Unfortunately, we can’t fix the driver. But at least we have control over the design of the streets we drive on.

One day, those designers got a bright idea that would increase the safety and traffic flow of our community: the Milpas roundabout. This tricky little circle could be effective, but the majority of people don’t know how to navigate it.

Living smack dab in the middle of the only three roundabouts in Santa Barbara, I’ve gotten a pretty good sense of how to use them. So, I feel it’s my civic duty to share this simple knowledge.

Yield to the drivers already in the circle, you know, the people on the left.

This does not mean come to a complete stop with nothing within sight; nor does it mean panic and blow through with your eyes closed hoping for the best.

Easy, right? But for a reason that eludes me, I can’t enter one of these vicious things without risking my life.

Perhaps it relates to the issue of distracted driving, which consists of anything that detracts from the driver’s attention. This includes getting dressed, eating, texting, grooming, reading, or whatever other ridiculous thing people do while driving.

According to the National Traffic Safety Administration, 20 percent of all crashes during 2009 were caused, in part, by distracted driving.

I know it’s tragic most of us obtain our licenses at 16, and are generally not tested again after that, but come on, people.

Open your eyes, know the rules of the road and that rain is not the end of the world, and most importantly…

Don’t be a statistic; paint your toenails before driving.