A yellow light does not mean speed up to try to beat the red.
We’ve all had experience with various examples of bad drivers.
Like the guy in the right-hand lane on Highway 16 at King Street who races to get ahead of the left lane driver when the light turns because it merges to one lane on the
Or how about the driver who, at the last minute, decides she doesn’t want to be in the turning lane at a light and cuts you off to get back to the straightaway.
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No turn signal, tailgating, passing on the right, speeding, rolling stops; the list goes on and on.
And we shouldn’t even have to mention using a cell phone and impaired driving, the two biggest causes of traffic fatalities in the province.
The interesting thing is that being a “bad driver” does not necessarily mean lacking in skills. In fact, it is often the most skillful drivers in terms of capability who are the worst offenders.
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It’s as if knowing they are capable, means the laws don’t apply to them.
But the important thing is not that these moves are illegal, it’s that they are dangerous. Yes, the vast majority of the time, a skillful driver is going to get away with it, both legally and in terms of not causing death or destruction.
But when it does go wrong, it goes really wrong.
All towns feel like they have more than their fair share of bad drivers and Smithers is no exception.
We should be striving, however, to be an exception, in the other direction.
For everyone’s sake, let’s slow down, observe the yellow light, come to a complete stop, keep your distance, etc.
And for heaven’s sake, stay off your phone. Distracted driving has now actually surpassed impaired driving in being the most deadly thing people do behind the wheel.
editor@interior-news.com
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