Why is it that we expect our new drivers -- teens -- to drive with any more respect or safety when the examples out there contradict these rules of the road? We cannot, and that is the reality.
This is what I see while on the road: drivers moving in and out of traffic as if where they need to go is any more important than anyone else on the road, speeding past everyone as if they were entered in a race. Use of a blinker to signal your direction seems to be obsolete.Perhaps everyone needs to read the drivers manual and remember the rules.
On the road, people are pulling out in front of other drivers as if they are nowhere in sight. People stop to let others make a turn or for pedestrians attempting to cross the street, and I've seen so many people keep on driving as if they are the only people on the road. Some, stopped behind a driver waiting for another vehicle or pedestrian, become impatient, move to another lane and drive by.
School zones are a nightmare; drivers are slowing down right when they get up to the flashing signs, or not at all. Parents and others dropping off children at schools are ignoring common-sense safety: not using blinkers to drive away from curb and drop off areas; driving into parking lots where they have been instructed not to enter to drop students off; making U-turns in the streets in front of the schools with no blinkers.
We as adults need to take a look at what we are teaching the youths by our own actions. We cannot say don't and then do exactly that and expect them to not notice or care. We do teach by example, not what we say as much as how we live our life. I could give many more examples, but the bottom line is: What are our true goals and are we willing to live them?
The most intriguing part of this is that those who disregard the road safety rules are the ones who would yell the loudest if their loved ones were hurt because of a driver disregarding safe driving rules.
Stephanie Rask
Magna