There are a few things that people never get tired of talking about.
Among them are the weather, the British Columbia government (almost better than a soap opera right now), and driving.
Usually this last one involves what terrible drivers other people are.
We’re always surprised in the newsroom every time we run a letter about proper use of traffic circles, or roundabouts, that there continues to be a response. Inevitably there’s confusion and debate about how they’re properly used, no matter how many times we, or someone else, points out that it’s clearly spelled out right here: www.th.gov.bc.ca/roundabouts/
That’s why you’ll continue to see us print such letters as they come in. It’s always the start of a good debate. It’s also why we run Tim Schewe’s Drivesmart column. I learn something new from it on a regular basis, or re-learn something I’ve long forgotten.
I’d bet most people who have been driving for a number of years would fail if they had to take a driving test right now, without any refresher.
Our bad habits become so ingrained we often don’t even notice them anymore.
As with many things involving driving, almost everybody thinks their way is the right way, no matter what anyone else says (even the rule book).
The issue of speeding is no different.
In Wednesday’s Citizen we brought you the story of folks on Telegraph Road in South Cowichan who are worried that speeders zipping through their neighbourhood are going to cause a fatality — and not just of a kitten. They’re already causing distress.
Thing is, we could almost have substituted the name of any road in the Cowichan Valley for Telegraph Road and written almost the same story. The response on Facebook tells us that.
So if everyone decries speeding through their neighbourhoods, who are all these speeders?
If you guessed that people behave differently once the car door closes and they are out of sight of their immediate neighbours, you’d be right.
Let’s face it. We’ve all exceeded the speed limit at some point in our driving careers. Some do it less apologetically and more deliberately than others. Some even argue that if people would just put in the effort to be as excellent at driving as they are, we could do away with this whole speed limit nonsense altogether (as long as it’s not past their house, naturally).
See, I love talking about driving, especially bad driving, too. And I haven’t even mentioned the Malahat yet!