From time to time in this space I’ve aired my thoughts and opinions about impatient drivers.
They just irritate me to no end. They are in such a big hurry and the ones that frustrate me the most are those who ignore traffic laws, often endangering others while they do so.
The other evening, my wife and I were taking her mother home after we had her out for dinner. I was driving down a two lane road about 40 miles per hour and within the speed limit. The road was clearly marked as a no passing zone for a good distance.
A vehicle was approaching quickly from behind me. The driver paid no attention to the speed limit.
As we approached the top of the hill, the driver completely ignored the clearly marked no passing zone and went right on by us.
My wife commented, “They’re trying out their new car.”
I figure that car was probably going 60-70 miles an hour and did it in a no passing zone.
That infuriates me. It’s little wonder that there are so many traffic accidents on our streets and roads today.
Anyway, we got up to the stop light and the car was still there, right next to us.
That particular incident didn’t cause a mishap. It points to a greater problem though.
If that driver is willing to ignore two laws, speeding and passing in a no passing zone, and take that kind of chance, he or she probably drives that way.
This occurs more and more along that stretch of road. Motorists choose simply not to adhere to the stripes and the speed limit.
I think the speed limit could be raised on some roads, among them this one.
But until they are, motorists should abide by the law.
When a stop sign is present, it means just that, STOP! Some stop signs may not be needed, just like speed limits should be raised on some roads. Until they are removed, the law should be obeyed.
A yield sign is intended for a motorist to slow down and give way to traffic already on that road.
I’m surely not a perfect driver, but I do try and adhere to traffic laws. It just seems to me that drivers, much more frequently are in such a hurry they have no intention of obeying traffic laws.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and police officers often point out the No. 1 cause of accidents is speeding. Drivers simply won’t slow down, they say.
Their statements are valid, I think. Law enforcement officers can’t possibly be everywhere, so many drivers believe they can get away with breaking traffic laws. That’s sad.
We see on almost any given day, breaking them often leads to tragic consequences.