Hello again.
I wasn’t going to do another article on driving, but they made me do it. This message is one of those ‘if the shoe fits then wear it’ messages.
Well, I’m about fed up with the way people are driving around the country and disappointed with our Spring River area in particular. I’m not the only one. In my conversations with law enforcement officers it seems to be a nationwide problem that unfortunately has led to some traffic fatalities.
When I took drivers ed we were taught that your primary job was to drive with care and secondly to see to the comfort of our passengers. Folks we have traffic laws for a very good reason.
I was recently talking to a friend of mine in Virginia, and he commented to my about how on his 14-mile trip to his office almost every day several people pass him going 90 mph or there abouts. Now here in our area people don’t drive 90, but they do certainly go way over the posted speed limit at times.
In Izard and Sharp Counties I am routinely being passed over double solid lines with hills and curves. Folks this is one of the most dangerous of driving practices.
Please leave a little earlier for your trips because as sure as I’m going to complain about it you will get behind someone going the speed limit or maybe a little below the limit.
Yes, you can’t always leave on time. I know unexpected things happen, but is it worth knowing that if you’re in an accident that you have injured or killed someone because you were impatient.
We use to have a saying in the trucking business that “if they want it today, they will really want it tomorrow. “ Be smart. Drive with care.
We have an older population here and they tend to drive slower because they know their reaction times are slower. We also have tourists here that want to enjoy their drive.
Many years ago I took some friends for a trip to Minnesota from Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois. One of these guys grew up in St. Louis, and until joining the service had never been more than 6 blocks from his house. On our trip he was 100 percent tourist. He had never seen a cow, a horse, a skunk…well you get the picture. He’d never seen critters in person. So, we ended up going slow and stopping by the side of the road for him to marvel at what he had been missing out on. There was a lot less traffic back then, but we still tried not to inconvenience anyone.
Also, the tailgating has gotten to be way too much these days. I’m not going to speed just because you are so close behind me that I can’t see your headlights. Remember folks, we have a lot of deer that just cross the road wherever they please. If you are so close to the vehicle in front of you that you can’t stop when they slam on their brakes to avoid an animal, you are way too close.
So people, please watch your speed be considerate of other drivers, and don’t drive like an idiot.
Tony Siebert
As a teenager I worked in a couple of garages mainly as a gopher and tool washer, but also working on vehicles and building motorcycles new out of their crates. I joined the U.S. Navy, I learned electronics and traveled to exotic places. My family increased by two of the most amazing kids anyone could have. My lovely wife and I decided to open our own computer repair shop. Later I worked for the third largest computer company in the world...and then their competition.
A careless driver in a full-size Bronco rearranged my life when she ploughed into me...no more electronics. After 3 years of recovery, I rejoined the world. I wouldn’t trade my wife for anything. We took up truck driving and this career has lasted for decades. I've been a company driver as well as an owner operator. I now have time to invent, create, and experiment, and you'd be amazed the places a wide range of experiences can take you!
