“I hate when I’m set on running a yellow light and the person in front of me chickens out.” Unknown.

Someone asked me the other day when I was once again going to write about bad drivers, which is something that I do from time to time. Truthfully, nothing much has changed except for one thing. Care to guess? Am I wrong or does it seem like every time the state or local municipality improves a road or street that the amount of speeders increases as well as the speed they drive at? I used to hate seeing a new rotary being constructed at an intersection, but that just might be the answer to forcing drivers to slow down.

Everyone thought is was just great when the section of River Road in Windham was redone from the intersection of Route 202 north to the Masonic Hall in North Windham. There’s no doubt that it looks great, and I am proud of the job a local company did in completing an arduous task. The only problem is that the only place drivers can’t speed is when they come to the rotary at River Road and Windham Center Road – although I understand when the construction first started some drivers attempted to drive over the rotary instead of around it. What I have witnessed astounds me because one of the worse areas for speeders on the River Road is in a 30-mph zone that includes a local funeral home.

There is no lack of a list of what type of drivers speed in this 30-mph zone and some surprise even myself. There is no difficulty observing privately owned vehicles speeding in this zone and after that the list actually becomes scary, leading me to the conclusion that maybe there should be a rotary at every intersection on the River Road. What else can be done because the Maine Department of Transportation shows favoritism for a rotary over traffic lights and stop signs? Sad part there is that drivers actually prove that whether we like it or not. So in Windham there was an apparent problem at the intersection of Windham Center, Pope and Ward Roads and when a four-way stop was created some idiot stole the stop signs. It probably was done by someone who doesn’t stop at a stop sign no matter where it is located.

Back to the River Road and the speeders that one has no difficulty observing. If I leave someone out I apologize, but it’s right across the board as to the type of vehicle one can observe speeding. I guess it’s bad enough when one sees a fully-loaded construction vehicle or even larger commercial vehicle speeding; when those vehicles are going at an excessive speed, I can tell you the consequences won’t be pretty. But, and a huge but it is, when one can witness a school bus containing many children going at a speed that is obviously much higher than the speed limit, then it is time to do something. My question is when will someone do something?

Before I go on to other things, I wonder if the construction upgrade on Route 202 from Route 302 in Windham to the Town of Gray will increase the speed that people drive as well. It’s going to be a beautiful road when it’s done, but for some of us that becomes a scary thought. I didn’t used to think such things but after witnessing more and more idiots behind the steering wheel, I wonder how our law enforcement officers can deal with it. Which leads me to another ever-growing problem, the dreaded tailgater.

The sad part is the tailgater is the jerk behind you who really wishes to be the speed racer in front of you. Maybe those automatic braking devices aren’t so bad after all. Just imagine, a tailgater comes up behind you and you can slam his or her brakes on. I don’t know about you but there is no doubt in my mind that the amount of tailgating going on is increasing.

Lane Hiltunen of Windham wonders if self-driving cars is the greatest idea of all times.