Just stop.
We all at various times are going somewhere, and from what I am seeing, a lot of us want to be there five minutes ago. We have no patience any more. I’ve sat at a large intersection and watched a traffic light turn to red and traffic keep on flowing. The drivers not wanting to wait the few minutes it takes for the lights to cycle through. Even though those with the green light should be able to move forward, they wisely wait for the impatient and disrespectful to move out of the way.That is at busy intersections where people have simply come to realize it is going to happen and prepare for the wait. Even though it is wrong.
I was scrolling through social media earlier and saw the article about an accident with fatality. Because someone ran a stop sign. Did they not know it was there? Did they not see it in time? Did they not see the oncoming traffic? Did they think the traffic laws didn’t pertain to them? We’ll never know as the driver was one of the fatalities.
I’m not sure what false sense of power, entitlement and invincibility some feel once behind the wheel of a vehicle, but those people are forgetting two things. One no matter what you are driving, you are not invincible. Two, acting irresponsibly puts not only you, but anyone in the vicinity in danger. Traffic laws are not in place to hold you back. They are not there to inconvenience you. They are there to protect you and to keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible.
I’m seeing commercials on television about vehicles with all of these safety features. Back up cameras, lane alerts when you aren’t staying where you should, alerts for when you are distracted and not watching the road. These would not be necessary, if you just stop. Stop feeling invincible and start paying attention to the fact that you are driving a potential weapon down the road. Stop signs are there because, guess what? There may be traffic coming in the other direction. Oh and, a stop sign, is not a yield sign. Stop, means stop. Those speed limit signs, yeah, they aren’t meant to be a suggestion. fifty-five, sixty-five, eighty, is not the new thirty-five. Especially but not exclusively, in and around areas filled with children.
You ask who am I, to try and tell someone else how to drive. I am one of the many who will be out there on the road. I am one of the many who have to not only watch out for my driving, but the driving of others. My son is often out there on his motorcycle, he’s one of those who are so often not seen. I have friends who are truck drivers, my late husband was a long haul truck driver. I know the nightmares they face due to the entitled. No, I’m not without mistakes, but they are not because of deliberately disobeying the rules and the etiquette of the road. I am one who wants to go home safely at the end of the day. I am one who wants to see and know my family and friends got home safely.
That road rage thing, a lot of that would be gone if we only learned and remembered that we are not the only one on the road. We should have been taught how to share as toddlers and that does mean the road as well. There are going to be times when things happen that shouldn’t. Someone accidentally cuts you off, or even intentionally. Someone doesn’t drive as fast as you would like. Someone does something that they shouldn’t do, take a deep breath, stay calm and move on. Be the better person. Too many innocent people have been injured or killed due to a road rage incident. That shouldn’t have happened. Injuring or even killing another doesn’t make things better for anyone.
Just stop.
I have seen the interstate a parking lot, all alternate roads a log jam. Because someone made a wrong move. Does it need to be said, distracted driving is dangerous. Just stop. No, you can’t send that quick text. No you shouldn’t be on the phone.No you can’t listen to videos because your eyes will be drawn to the screen. No you can’t do anything that is anything other than being fully focused on the road and your driving and be safe.
Does it need to be said? Do not drink and drive. Do not do mind altering substances and try to drive. Just don’t.
Weather conditions make a difference. Know what is coming, understand your abilities. If you can’t see, if the storm is too severe, just pull over to a safe place and stop.
Know who is on the road with you. Understand that those big trucks, have large blind spots where if that is where you are driving, they cannot see you. They do not know you are there. The space they leave in between them and the vehicle in front of them, that is their safe stopping zone. Yes, it takes that far to stop. Know who you are driving around and drive accordingly.
The video I saw, the images of those wrecked vehicles. I still see those images hours later. People did not go home yesterday, because someone ran a stop sign. I have no idea who they were. I don’t know them, but it could be different. It could have been someone I know, someone important and special to me. It could be someone you know. It is important that we just stop acting so entitled and arrogant and drive sensibly and respectfully. It matters.
Words from The Dirt Road 
Good one, Rebecca! People here drive like they own the road. It is awful. I think because our traffic is generally light they feel they do not have to worry about others. Drive safe and watch out for those who do not. 💞
I sit here at night and listen to traffic on the road our dirt road feeds off us. The dirt road is pretty well center of a straight away. Vehicles will come around the first curve, wind it out and barrel around the next. I keep waiting for the sound of a crash.
Even in the beautiful countryside, one cannot escape those who are so busy and important that they cannot slow down to appreciate life.
So sad but true. The bad thing though, for those who do this in one direction, there is an older lady who has a house that sits back from the road but she has a fence around her yard. They were replacing sections of that fence every few months due to people missing that curve. They finally gave in and moved the fence back about six feet. Yeah, someone still hit the thing.
Just rediculous. We are forth house on the block and I still worry sometimes when people come flying around the corner – that they will slide swipe our Jeep.