Day 2: A message to all drivers

I truly wish y'all would slow down. Is it really necessary to drive so fast? Are you truly getting to your destination all that much sooner by going 10 miles an hour faster? Let's do the math. Let's say you've got to go fifteen miles on surface streets. Now, traffic signals and heavy traffic conditions can add a lot of time to travel, but these are constants. In other words, if you hit a red light, you have to stop, whether you're going 35 or 45 miles an hour. If you run into bad traffic that's moving 20 miles per hour, it really doesn't matter much if you were going 35 or 45 when you reach it. The only part of the equation you really have any control over is how fast you drive when you're not stuck in traffic or at a red light. So that's what I'm taking into account.

Back to our situation. You've got to drive fifteen miles on surface streets. Speed limits in metropolitan areas typically range from 25 to 45 mph, so for the purpose of my illustration we will assume the average speed limit for your trip is 35 mph. If you were to drive at the speed limit for your trip, 35 mph, it would take you 25.7 minutes of driving time to reach your destination. If you decide to speed and average 10 mph faster than the speed limit, 45 mph, your trip will take you 20 minutes of drive time. You're saving just under six minutes of drive time, but at what risk to your own safety and that of others? If you're taking the freeway, speeding becomes even more dangerous and saves you considerably less time. Say you had to go that 15 miles on the interstate in a 65 mph zone. If you travel at the posted speed limit, you will require 13.8 minutes of drive time. If you drive at 75 mph, 10 mph over the posted limit, you will require 12 minutes of drive time. You're saving less than two minutes! Seriously, now, have our lives come to such a place where two minutes is worth putting our own lives and others at potentially serious risk?

Another thing I'd like you to consider: come to a full stop at stop signs and red lights, even if you're turning right. I no longer own a car, I get around on my own two feet and using public transportation and on my bicycle if the distance is too great. Personally, I love it. I've noticed my quality of life has gone up considerably. I'm also far less irritable. Truthfully, I'm not losing all that much time by my choices either. But here's my problem. I've been hit by cars many times. Fortunately, God built me like a tank and so far I haven't been injured seriously, just some scrapes and bruises. But over the past five years, I've been hit by cars as a pedestrian five times and three times on my bike. Nearly every single one of those hits was a situation where I was crossing a street or parking lot entrance where a car was making a right turn and never looked right! The driver never came to a full stop and never saw me until they were hitting me. Several of them even proceeded to get out of their car and yell at me for getting in their way! I'm quite serious, they hit me in a crosswalk and got out to yell at me!

"You should've stopped at the crosswalk and waited for me, " I recall one angry guy in a truck exclaiming at me, "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

Apparently, in his mind, a pedestrian who steps out into a crosswalk and gets hit by a car who has a stop-sign and never stops or looks right has just attempted suicide. He was that unwilling to accept responsibility for his actions, and I've found that it's not an uncommon attitude for most people. I was very tempted to call the police at that point and have them explain to him one of the most basic of all driving laws: the pedestrian ALWAYS has the right of way. It doesn't matter if a pedestrian is crossing a busy street illegally, they have the right of way every time without exception. If you don't know that, please consult your traffic safety laws and cure your ignorance. The reason for this is simple, it takes very little to kill a person with a car. Fifteen miles per hour is quite often a fatal speed when you hit a pedestrian. I challenge you to go out to your car and try to drive that slow! Most people can't, it's not easy, especially if you have an automatic transmission.

All I'm asking is that those of you who drive regularly slow down and look around a little more at intersections. Realize that you're in a lethal weapon every single time you get behind the wheel and that even the best of drivers can get into accidents. Put the phone down, pay attention to the road, slow down, and, please, always look to the right at an intersection! The life you save could be mine.