It just takes a deep breath and a little patience for driving to be anything but the stress-inducing task that many have made it out to be. Yes, we can control our driving experience.

When I was a younger driver, I quickly learned the ridiculousness of those who raced from one light to the next, never really getting that much farther ahead of those who drove the speed limit and with moderate accelerations.

I can’t imagine, especially living in Merritt, being one of those persons who goes through the stress that overly aggressive drivers go through everyday. Is it really worth it to get to your destination maybe five or ten minutes faster than everyone else? Perhaps their life span will be shortened by the same amount each time they drive agressively. Not only does bad driving add unnecessary stress, it endangers the lives of everyone on the road. It’s clearly a no-win situation for anybody. You may laugh at that because you feel proud about waking up 15 minutes before you have to make your commute, then race as fast as possible to get to work on time. It’s nothing to be proud of and it still isn’t worth it.

It doesn’t surprise me to hear about all the truck roll overs in the valley. A recent letter to the editor stated a woman had to pull over onto the shoulder to avoid an oncoming trucker who was speeding through a 60 km/h zone. I can’t remember the last time I saw a rig pulled over for speeding. In fact, I don’t think I ever have. I wonder if rigs are required to display the “How’s my driving?” bumper stickers. But even then, you may not have time to read it or you may be to concerned with driving over an embankment.

At times, I see poor driving on the part of big-rig trucks right here in town. The most common thing I see is their failure to stop at red lights when making a right-hand turn, and I see many of them not coming to a complete stop at stop signs either.

But that’s not as bad as what others, including Kathy Dahlquist-Gray, are saying about passenger vehicles racing through city streets, and for what reason? To impress people? Anger? I don’t get it. Who is impressed by a pick up truck with monster truck-like wheels peeling around a corner full
of pedestrians and doing 70 or 80 km/h down Coldwater Avenue?

Just remember that the size of your vehicle does not determine your importance or value in life. Safe roads exist when we give respect and courtesy to those we share the roads with.

On the bright side of things, ICBC reports a decrease in traffic fatalities following higher than average rates between 2002 and 2005. There were over 74,000 vehicles involved in crashes in 2007 in B.C. Recent stats are not yet available.

— John O'Connor