What’s your hurry your death or mine?

Not too long ago on a trip down the interstate, I nearly went under the wheels of an 18-wheeler. Why? Because the driver was entering the highway from an entrance ramp without yielding.

I was unable to move over to accommodate him, and though I was slowing down, I didn’t have nearly enough time at 65 miles per hour.

Yield does not mean “me first.”

What is it that makes us such aggressive and uncaring drivers?

We tailgate a car that is going the posted speed, and then pass it in a rush.

Sometimes we pass another vehicle, only to turn down the road less than a mile.

I am on the road enough to see some of the darndest things; at times, I’m actually amazed that people don’t get killed more often.

Going faster doesn’t get you there that much sooner. I remember making trips Downeast to catch a ferry and be passed somewhere on Route 3, only to find the car at the light in Ellsworth, just one car-length ahead.

I don’t recall in the driver’s manual where the rule of the road is “me first” or tailgating and passing unsafely will get you there sooner.

I don’t think that blowing through a stop sign, which we see frequently at an intersection near our home, or failing to yield adds anything but stress to everyone’s life.

If drivers are that harried, they should take a deep breath and relax. They will get where they need to be in the same amount of time.

It’s not my fault when other drivers are late, so they shouldn’t make me or someone else pay for their tardiness or their “me first” attitude.

Either one could get them or me dead.

 

Ed Wheaton

Pittston

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