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Slow Down and Pay Attention!
By Wendy Middlemass, Winchester
Does human life have no value? That is a question I keep asking myself every day, particularly when behind the wheel of my car. I'd have to think that it does not mean too much to some people, based on what I see going on around me. All this talk of sadness and compassion for fellow Americans following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack doesn't seem to ring true. People just don't care for one another, it would seem. They're trying to kill each other with their careless driving. Out of a car they may be wonderful people, but in a car they're a menace. The mentality on the road is "hurry, hurry, hurry" and total selfishness and ignorance.
I think I am probably one of the few people driving who actually try to obey the laws of the road. Apparently that infuriates the rest of the drivers out there. It doesn't matter where I'm driving—somebody will undoubtedly either pass me on a solid double line or totally cut me off, usually while waving their fist or their middle finger. Running another driver off the road is fine so long as you get where you're going—not! Why not get your act together and leave earlier, for heaven sake?
Stoplights are only to be observed if a police cruiser is in sight? The lines of the road are merely "suggestions" as to where your car should be driving? The speed limits are just road "decor" and not to be taken seriously? Passing several cars on a turn of a back country road is A-OK so long as nobody catches you? I think most people think they're living in some twisted video game that they can just reset at will. Wake up, folks! This is real life and you don't get another chance!
Is getting there that fraction of a second sooner going to make any real difference if you end up dying or killing some other innocent person in the process? You may not value your life all that much, but some of us do—and would appreciate your taking public transportation! I'd love to know what is so urgent that necessitates totally ignoring what is expected of every driver. The laws are for everyone's safety, and no one is exempt from following them.
Every day you hear about the horror of how all those poor people died last September, but nobody seems to consider all the other people dying one by one at the hands of their fellow automobile drivers. I wish everybody would slow down, get off the phone, and pay attention to what they're doing out there on the road.
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