Watch for overstressed drivers
This letter is written in concurrence with Doug McHenry’s observations in his Jan. 11 letter concerning the blatant failure of drivers in Canonsburg to properly obey the law at stop signs.
Of course, this problem is not confined to Canonsburg. It is witnessed everywhere.
Two questions arise: Why has this apparently become the norm instead of the exception? I’ll speculate based upon observations of my own, with impatience being the major culprit.
Why are many people so impatient behind the wheel these days? It certainly seems to me that impatience is born of the frantic lifestyle into which many people have fallen. As I have seen, this “foot to the floor, needle in the red line” attitude has a tight grip on much of the population. Trying to balance work, family and social life seems to be tempting drivers to take dangerous shortcuts because they are in a mad rush to multitask. I’d wager that many traffic violations and distracted-driving accidents have their root in impatience, which is fueled by trying to do much too much within the space of a single day. Texting and phone use while driving are additional evidence of overextended lives.
Sorry to say, I can’t see any lessening of this modern, self-induced pressure. The best we can do for our own safety is to drive defensively at all times, and really watch out for the overstressed, distracted driver trying to do it all.
Ronald J. Yamka
Canonsburg