A couple of weeks ago I had the greatest shock of my life when I got a phone
call telling me my wife of three months was in a car accident, and was on
her way to the hospital in an ambulance. It's not exactly the kind of thing
a newlywed wants to hear. It turned out she was fine (apart from a terribly
sore neck and back), and now that her car is repaired, life has just about
returned to normal.
But let me tell you happened that day:
As she was running errands, she approached a traffic signal and it turned
yellow. Having enough time to stop, she began to slow down. It was a fairly
quick stop, and she very likely could have made it through before the light
turned red, but she didn't exactly slam on the brakes either.
She caught a quick glimpse of the big black Dodge truck in her rear view
mirror before it plowed into her and knocked her right through the major
intersection. Luckily, no other cars ran into her. When the cop gave the
other driver his ticket for following too close, the man's response was:
"I thought she was going to go through it"
This brings me to my point. For some time now, I have witnessed the decay of
the quality of driving on the roads around me. It has gotten to the point
where I'm almost ready to start making a long walk to work.
But this episode got me thinking. And it got me very mad. Mad at the driver
who ran into her, whose defense was that he thought she was going to do the
wrong thing, and mad at every driver I see stretching the boundaries of the
law on the road. Some violations have become so commonplace and accepted,
that's it's almost okay, except for one minor point--
You are putting my life at risk.
That's something I don't take lightly. Here are a couple of cases in point,
each of which have now become for me more than just annoyances, and are now
considered in my mind to be life-threatening actions:
1. Running that yellow/red light. I think this has slowly become the
norm at intersections (at least where I live, in Virginia Beach), to the
point where everyone kind of plays along. I may be wrong, but my
understanding of the law is that when the light turns yellow, that is to
give you fair warning to get your ass out of the intersection. By the time
the light turns red, you should be out of the intersection. This is
the way the traffic light is supposed to work. It's very simple. But now,
not only do people speed up for the light, but after it turns red, the next
five cars still go through. The other cars that have the green now know that
they have to wait till the intersection clears. Like I said, now that it is
so common, everyone knows, and a lot of the danger is gone.
Until some damn idiot decides that my wife also has to play by the
new rules of the road. God Forbid she decides to do the right thing, and be
a law-abiding citizen, to slow down if she has time, like she's supposed to.
2. An issue that I haven't mentioned till now, but that probably pisses me
off more, is the tendency of people turning out of side roads to just say
"screw it" and pull out in front of me, when I'm coming down the road at
40 MPH! I'm sorry, what is that?
I wouldn't even bring it up if it weren't now happening at least ten times a
day when I go to work and back. Some idiot decides that they just aren't
comfortable enough sitting on the side street or driveway for all the cars
to pass, they need to pull out in the middle of the freakin road and wait.
AND I have to slam on my brakes. I should never have to slam on my brakes
when I'm coming down a road. I come so close to hitting these people
every freakin day, and what gets me the most is that there are
usually NO CARS BEHIND ME!! I swear this happens so much it's frightening.
Wait a goddamn 20 seconds for me to pass. It won't kill you, or me, but if
you pull out in front of me, the chances of that are increased dramatically.
Driving is not a goddamn game. It is not just a way to get from here to
there, and getting somewhere quick is never more important than my wife's
life. If you don't understand that, you should not have a license, and you
should not be on the road.
It has gotten to the point, even before this accident occurred, where I felt
like it was only a matter of time before one or both of us was in some kind
of accident. Only a matter of time. That is really scary for a newlywed. And
now that it has come to pass, I think it scares me even more. It's only a
matter of time before it happens to any of us. It shouldn't be.
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Name: Tonya
Name: Clarence Oddbody Comments:
Kristin, it's people like YOU that keep the roads unsafe. I suggest that you grow-up and start thinking like a muture responsible person that cares about the safety of those around you!
Name:Dennis Costea Major: N/A Comments:
I just suggested a story like this to the folks at USA TODAY. My suggested title, "10 Stupid Moves To Get You In An Accident". Somebody needs to point out to people in the harshest possible manner that the vehilce they're operating is like a 2,000 lb. sledge hammer! I live in Virginia Beach also and agree with Greg completely.
Name: Kristin Comments:
I completly disagree with the three of you. Being from NOVA, one should be used to the crazy traffic. I am. I don't stop for yellow lights becuase you WILL be rearended. I bet your wife won't be stopping for them anymore, either. And tickets-schmickets. What does that prove? It certainly won't teach the driver a lesson; I can promise you that. Was the insuarnce a big deal becuase the guy was underage or becuase his company didn't want to pay? As for the pulling out issue (that sounds bad....), there's nothing you can do. Get over it. When I'm driving, and I see a car looking to pull out, I automatically move to the left lane. NOVA drivers are fast and seemingly reckless (I don't think it's that bad...just overly exaggerated..). If you can't keep up, stay off the road.
Name: Charlene Ratliff Comments:
Hi Greg! I totally agree with you. I live in Norhtern Va and driving ther is a night mare. I think it was the birth place of road rage! I too have had people pull out right in front of me. Sometimes to the point where I had to swerve into the other lane to miss hitting them. Thank god no one was coming the other way! And if you honk at these people to try to get them to realise what they have just done..they throw thiers hands up like "WHAT!?!?!?" I have also had people honk at me because I stopped at a yellow light or didn't cut in front of someone to make a left turn so the person behind me could turn quicker. People have to realize that they can't expect other people to risk thier lives just so they can get fom point a to b faster!
Name:chris hollomon Major: spch comm Comments:
Well the same thing that happened to your wifed happen to me, but that shit doesn't just happen in VA beach either, last year while waiting for a girl to turn into the infurmery at our school, and big brand new white ford rams into the back of me, and i hit the girl in front of me so my car was smashed from both ends.. now the worst thing about the whole ordeal wasn't the accident, The cop didnt give the guy a ticket!!!!! when i heard that all I could do was just start laughing.. really. I got all my money from his insurance agent but it was a bigger pain in the ass because it wasn't automatic like it would of been if a report had been filed. We had to contact this guys dad and get things straighted out. So I know how you feel bro, but if for all those who get in this situation in the future. ASK for the cop to give a ticket. It'll make your life easier.
