Take a second to stop and think Signs, signs, they are everywhere. What do they mean?
To most people they have relevance; to others it seems that they are meant for everybody else. Think of any large city that you have driven in. I suspect that you recall many incidences where signs are ignored and it made your blood boil and road rage thoughts came out including many expletives. Ring any bells?
For the record, those sorts of incidents don’t happen in large cities alone. We have many of the incidents that I refer to right here in little old Penticton. No they are not limited to new drivers, young drivers, or seniors but drivers of all ages. The following are a few noticeable incidents around our city.
1) Four way stop and single stop intersections where cars proceed through the signs without stopping because there is no other vehicle in sight or at the stop signs.
2) Approaching a traffic signal whose light changes to red and cruising right through the red light to make a right turn without coming to a complete stop.
3) Following another vehicle (tailgating) as though you can get the car ahead of you to speed up by exceeding the posted speed limit.
4) When coming into town past Redwing and totally ignoring posted speed signs. In light of two large truck and a few car accidents due to speeding.
There are many others, however, these seem to be some of the most obvious ones. I guess the question that we should be asking is, how many of these have I been guilty of? It’s quite easy to rationalize things by thinking that, ‘I’ve never do any of those,’ and go on your way. However, have you given any thought to passengers riding with you as to what they might be thinking and feeling? This is especially true if you have youngsters with you and you exhibit any of these. What sort of message does it convey to them? It will be more or less a monkey see, monkey do scenario when they get the opportunity to drive.
I am sure that there are those out there that feel that these issues aren’t all that big. However, familiarity does breed contempt not so much where other people are concerned but for things such as the above mentioned. We may get so used to doing these things that one day we will take things for granted and not be as cautious as we should be and wham an accident.
Is it time for a self-check? Only you know the answer to that.
Ron Barillaro
Penticton