Ostomy Memories of Traffic Violations

EVERYONE VIOLATES TRAFFIC LAWS, sometimes without realizing it. You can’t drive anywhere without there being a posted speed limit, yet drivers habitually go faster than those limits. It is a common belief that one is safe exceeding these limits somewhat, that cops won’t do anything unless your speed is too much to ignore. There is a certain amount of truth to that, since no officer wants to stand before a judge and say he ticketed some otherwise law-abiding citizen for doing 48 MPH in a 45 zone. Another traffic law often violated is the Right on Red allowance. Most, if not all, of these state statutes specifically say that a driver can do this, but only after first stopping to check for traffic. I see drivers go right on red while barely slowing their cars, if at all. There is another traffic provision that cops sometimes set up to witness and then cite: cutting corners. This is when a driver is too impatient to sit through a red light while waiting back a few cars before he can turn right, so he just cuts through the parking lot of the business on that corner. Then there’s the thoughtless driver who changes direction of travel without signaling, an offense that can be dangerous on a busy highway. You want to scream at him/her, “Don’t you know what that little dooey is that protrudes out from the left side of your steering column?” But speeding, perhaps the most frequently occurring, is also the most dangerous. People over-estimate their ability to quick stop a fast-moving vehicle and, in most jurisdictions, a motor vehicle is considered a deadly weapon. Finally, if you think that you can beat a speeding ticket, first try flying to the moon on gossamer wings…

I don't speed. I actually don't like driving and only drive when I have to.

That's quite intereting that you say you don't like driving.  I'm going to have to ponder what that says about your personality.  This could be the subject of a new post... 

LOL Glad I inspire you.

I do not like driving cars either. I tend to cycle distances of six miles or less, which is most of the journeys I need to make. Sometimes my car will not be used for months and I need to charge the battery before it will start. Financially, it would be much cheaper for me to get taxis when I need to travel any distance. However, I actually like riding on the bus and the train because I can look at the scenery without fear of causing an accident. Also, what we call 'public' transport offers the opportunity to 'think' about other things. 

Best wishes

Bill  

Always feels good to find out I'm not the only one.

One of the most dangerous things a motorist can do to themselves is go around the arms/lights at train crossings. Not only is it an expensive ticket, I think it's 400 here, it's also very dangerous as trains can't stop on a dime to compensate for an idiot willing to risk their life to save roughly 2 minutes of their day. Also take into consideration the fact that every crossing accident brings the federal government into it for national safety but the railroads go after the motorist thru their insurance to pay for damages to anything the railroad owns....the engine, the rail cars, the tracks, the property, etc. So, you trying to save 2 minutes can turn into you dying and your insurance paying millions for your stupidity. And don't forget about the train crew member(me) that gets to walk up to your car and see your mangled body for the rest of their life in their heads. All this stuff happens daily on all railroads.

I know we have had some pretty tragic accidents here with the railroad track crossing right over our main street in the downtown area. And it is not just motorists, pedestrians also.

We just had one here that involved a guy that stole a police car with a K9 dog in the back seat. The guy said he wanted to die. He fled the scene and intentionally ran into a young guy sitting at a crossing waiting for a train to go by. He pushed the guys car into the train along with the stolen police car. Killed the guy in his car, the fleeing suspect, and the K9 dog. I could go on and on about train accidents.

Oh my gosh that is so sad. You would have PTSD from seeing things like that.

Yeah. We had a guy off work for a long time when the train he was on hit an elderly lady that was in a wheelchair that got stuck on the rail when she tried to cross the tracks at a crossing.

How can anyone handle seeing that?

This makes me sick!If there was any justice, he would have been the only casualty.

Yeah, the innocent guy at the crossing was a teacher/coach, so a lot of people got affected by it. The K9 dog got a motorcade that started here and went to the state capitol I think, bout 50 miles long.

That is just so sad.