To Obey or Not To Obey

That is the question facing many Long Islanders everyday. In this sense I’m talking about traffic laws. Luckily for me our office is a short trip from my home and I feel for those of you that have long commutes. The congestion on Long Island is one problem; our public transportation is another problem. However increasingly I find people who do not obey traffic laws are an even greater problem.

On a regular basis I see people running stop signs, running red lights, passing moving traffic across double yellow lines, driving on the shoulder to pass others at stop lights, using turning lanes as passing lanes and so on. Sometimes when I drive I’m left feeling like it’s the Wild West and we’re in the middle of shoot outs with people running for cover at every turn.

As that parent of a teenager daughter I became more sensitive last week when she got her drivers permit. On the back roads of Huntington I have driven with my daughter four times during the week and on each occasion we experienced someone running a stop sign. These were not the oops I forgot to stop, at least I hit my brakes and tried to stop incidents… these were the I don’t care whose at the intersection, I’m more important and just going to drive through incidents.

In four short trips with my daughter she has faced things I never faced when driving with a permit and that I wish she didn’t have to. She now is questioning whether she wants to drive on certain roads in the area, not because of the general anxiety of a new driver, but because of the blatant disregard of traffic laws and courtesy by other drivers that is scaring the hell out of her. And because some of her friends who also just got there permits also don’t want to drive in the area for the same reasons.

I am not perfect by any means, sometimes I might drive to fast or follow to close. But the levels of people who blatantly disregard traffic laws are concerning I get of sense they are actually enjoying the thrill of putting my life and the live’s of others in jeopardy.

How sad, for her and the other kids starting to drive. Let’s answer the question for ourselves. Show some respect for others, it takes approximately 5-10 seconds more to stop at a stop sign. When you pass on the double yellow, you will invariably end up stopped at the next light. Hit the brakes, don’t blow the dead red. You get the picture. Let’s just show some common decency and help the kids learning to drive today survive on our roads.