To the Editor:
Attention drivers. Where do you have to go so urgently that you would risk someone’s safety, including yours, just for a few minutes gained in beating the light or another driver? You honk at me for not driving the second the light turns green. But what if I’m only delaying to avoid an accident, as I check for both speeding cars and pedestrians traveling on the road I’m about to cross? Is the two-second wait behind me too great for you to bear?
Every time you see me creep along reasonably ahead of you on the streets of Bayonne, where the typical speed limit is 20 to 25 miles per hour as it is a residential town, you do realize that you could sensibly pass me on the left lane whenever it’s clear, right? Must you honk and shake your head still? Where’s your chief destination, anyway? Well, wherever it is, I hope you arrive without getting anyone caught in an accident that your reckless driving might cause along the way. And, by the way, are you the same driver who cuts corners when turning left into a street and almost always hits the car in the opposite lane?
I realize that there are slow drivers and pedestrians who seem to think that they own the street and must delay other drivers, like pedestrians who are neither seniors nor have children with them. But who saunters when crossing, not giving the drivers who yield to them the same courtesy by crossing promptly?
Still, we are responsible for our actions, even on the road, just like curbing our dogs (or Bayonne won’t have much clean sidewalks left for leisurely walks), or disposing our garbage properly when we’re out. The signs and warnings the officials put up hardly matter if they don’t to us. We must drive more responsibly.
By the way, are you also the McDonald’s patron, who openly threw your trash in the parking lot, not considering that your trash is yours to keep, if indeed you were too tired to walk to the nearest receptacle?
All this road-rush is appalling. Even worse, it often results in serious accidents and unnecessary trouble, or grief, for those involved, like in the two recent major accidents –the tragic death of a senior pedestrian who was crossing Avenue C and the huge car collision on Avenue E.
Of course, we can never be too safe on the road without being paranoid and do get somewhat distracted while driving, but for goodness sake – for safety – can’t we slow down a bit? The two-minute gain at the light is really vain; besides, you still get caught at the next light anyway. But is the few minutes gained still too much for you to let go? Is life really worth that little? As we strive to live everyday, it only takes an instant for someone to die due to reckless driving. Think about that as you head out in your car today. And thanks for listening.
MICA SAYLOR