LETTER: Distracted driving is dangerous

To the Editor:

We all need to pay attention while we are driving a vehicle. I remember learning once that a vehicle is called a weapon. We need to remember to live in the present (as the present is a gift) and not be distracted by yesterday as it is gone and the tomorrows as they are not guaranteed.

One day last week my husband was driving home from work on a road that would take him to the Hwy 64 freeway entrance. A car was coming up from the exit ramp facing him. This vehicle made a “rolling stop” and continued right in front of my husband. My husband was forced to drive thru the median onto the opposite facing road and back onto the road he started in. Now this incident could have cost many injuries and lives due to a careless, distracted driver.

What are drivers doing out there?

We’re all guilty, we’ve all been distracted and all found ourselves in an instance where we felt very bad for scaring another person and ourselves.

The second incident was also very scary as it could have resulted in the injury or death of a three month infant. I was approaching an intersection on Knowles Avenue which did not have a stop light. I stood on the sidewalk with my grandchild in the stroller and waited for a good time to cross. The traffic was medium and a few kind drivers stopped to allow me to cross. The road looked clear so I proceeded only to find a careless, distracted driver driving right through this intersection in front of me. The distance was about 6 feet between myself and this SUV. Needless to say I was angry, scared and feeling blessed that we were OK.

What will it take for us to learn?

We’ve all heard of the tragic stories on the news where someone’s daughter, son, mother, father, sister or brother is gone because of one’s careless, distracted driving. The news calls them accidents. Really?

An accident according to Webster is an unintended happening, a mishap, chance. I understand that accidents are unintended but at what point will we stop making excuses and hold ourselves responsible??

The lawmakers are busy. They have many other important issues to face. But isn’t life the most important? I heard on the news that in one fatal accident there may be charged placed against the person who was engaged in the texting because they were aware that the texter was driving a vehicle at the time. This is a fine way to set an example but is this not putting the cart in front of the horse?

Teach your children how to drive intentionally, how to focus and be aware of their surroundings. Teach them to drive offensively and defensively. Would that not help decrease the number of “accidents“?

Sally Teigen

New Richmond

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion