People eager to ‘get there’

I drive for a living now. I notice good drivers. And the poor drivers, well, they are more than an annoyance, they are a hazard to themselves and others. I am referring to the folks who drive like they are from somewhere else. Or, they are the few young people who don’t know the unwritten law of the road.

Have these people gone through a driver’s education and been subjected to a defensive driver’s training program, which graphically illustrates what happens in an accident? What about good old fashioned common courtesy or the Golden Rule?

I am not that old. I have lived in Snohomish County since 1973 and am in my early 50s.

People who have lived here as long as I have will remember when:

– If we were backing out of a parking space, drivers would stop and wait, even if they did not need to park there.

– A light turned yellow, on-coming traffic would stop to allow the opposing car to complete its left turn.

– If someone was wearing an old-fashioned hat, it meant “use extra caution and show respect.”

– We left a three to five second interval between cars (in other words… “don’t tailgate”!).

– We knew what turn signals were for.

The growing trend in driving is “I need to get there, and everyone else is just a vehicle impeding my progress.”

We all need to “get there.” That’s why we’re on the road. And we all deserve to get there safely and in one piece.

Snohomish