31 March, 2020
Spring is here. The weather is becoming beautiful, albeit we are still getting some cold fronts and snow in some parts of the country. With this new social distancing, more folks have taken to the sidewalks to exercise and find a respite from “cabin fever”. The roads are mostly empty as more folks begin to Work From Home. Well, these empty roads has caused an alarming issue.
In the 1950’s – 70’s, muscle cars from Detroit were the objects of desire. Back then, not every student had a personal car, let alone the ability to use the family’s second car to drive to school and social events. Many families could only afford, (or need, for that matter), one car for the family’s use. The muscle cars provided a form of entertainment and excitement. Stop lights acted as staging lights, rubber was left on the street when the light turned green, and the rush of excitement filled the air. Racing challenges were a part of daily life, just like duels in the olden days. Weekend nights and deserted roads were the arenas to gain fame and notoriety. Pink slips were relinquished to the victor. Kings of the roads were crowned. If you were lucky enough to ride “shotgun”, you were a prince in you own right. Everyone was attracted to the drivers, especially the pretty girls. It was a fun and exciting time.
Today’s car models, while not as cool and menacing as the muscle cars of yesteryear, seem to all be able to “get down and boogie” on our roadways. Technology enhancements like fuel injection, Dual Over-Head Cams, turbos, computer chips, tighter steering and lowered suspensions have put a race car (or three) in most driveways across America. The question is, “Can you handle the power contained in your right foot?” My assessment is that some drivers can’t do so responsibly. Driver’s Ed classes have been discontinued in our schools and kids are learning at an early age bad driving habits, (hey, Mario is all over the race course,) and racing techniques from their video games . The thrill seekers among us apply these techniques on the real roads when they get behind the wheel.
These days, our byways and highways are clogged with traffic. This fuels our impatience. We don’t want to be stuck in traffic. We don’t want to stop at the red light. In fact, it seems that somewhere along the line it became acceptable to run these red lights (often a parade of three cars in a violation dance). The thrill-seekers among us weave in and out of traffic to gain those precious yards of pavement. They have no regard for the safety of others. The World is in their hands and feet and nobody can catch them. You often see cars on the highways racing each other through the traffic at extremely high speeds. The fast lane is any lane. They have that video game attitude that if you crash and burn, you just reset the game and live to race another day. But the grime reality is, if you crash and take out other cars around you, then it’s “Game Over”.
I say we need to make our roads safer. Slow down. Chill out. Get up ten minutes earlier in the morning to avoid being late for work. Don’t incessantly weave through traffic. Don’t run that red light. Adopt the island mentality of, “Hey mon, what’s your hurry?” You will get there when you get there.
Stay Happy and Healthy!
Right, we see violators all the time, but you sure don’t seem them getting tickets. Maybe one occasionally for speeding but never for running a red light, which is much more dangerous.