Is it just me or are people driving really crazy lately?

I’ve really noticed an increase in reckless driving habits over the last five years or so. It’s not always teenagers either. I’ve had all kinds of people cut me off, ride my bumper or pass me in unsafe ways. Most of the court and police blotter news in the paper is about driving infractions, drunken or otherwise.

Maybe you read about the guy a couple of weeks ago who was in a 100-mile-an-hour drunk driving accident here in Standish. Maybe you thought as I did about how messed up that guy is and how you would never do that.

I do have to admit though, when I was a teenager I did drive drunk a couple of times in a rural area late at night. I felt bad about it but what made me never do it again was hearing from my friends who were nabbed for it. One of my friends had his license taken away for 18 months while another one had his yanked for three years. Luckily they didn’t kill anyone but the potential is always there when you’re driving drunk.

I think about the people who have lost loved ones from drunk drivers and how that would weigh on me. Thinking about the financial costs and the cost of lives changed forever helps me to never drive drunk. These are terrible thoughts that people have when they consider driving drunk, but what kind of thoughts do people have when they consider driving recklessly?

I’m not talking about kids doing donuts in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. I’m talking about you. Maybe you’re late for work and the light on Route 25 just changed to yellow so you gun it. Maybe you’re behind someone driving 45 mph on Route 35 and you’re in a no passing zone. You pass three cars and almost hit someone coming the other way. You arrived to work on time but was it worth it?

I spend a lot of time in parking lots working in various supermarkets. I have seen some terrible driving in my time. From people cutting across the lot at high speeds to parking in the fire lane or handicap spots to just blowing through stop signs. I’ve come to the conclusion that people believe that a stop sign in a parking lot is optional. People who normally obey them on the road blow them off in a lot.

Now I’m no better than you. Last year, some guy pulled out right in front of me on Route 25. I was so mad I passed him at a high rate of speed. Coming the other way was Sergeant Estabrook from Cumberladn County Sheriff’s Department. He pulled me over and told me I could go to jail for reckless driving. I explained to him that I was dumb and was very sorry. He let me go with a verbal warning, but I was scared.

I spent an evening at home curled up in the fetal position thinking about the whole thing. I pictured myself getting cuffed and stuffed into a police car. I pictured myself getting a lawyer. Who would I call? Would I call that lawyer from TV with the baseball bat? How would I tell my family? How about that “I told you so” lecture from the wife? Then I took a deep breath and told myself that I would never drive like that again so I would never have to answer those questions.

Now and again, I catch myself getting mad but for the most part I pull over and let them get away from me. We’re all human and we all make mistakes. But people like you and me who were shocked at the 100-mile-an-hour crash take some of those same risks everyday.

Let’s go back to the Route 35 scenario. You’re headed toward Windam to get some shopping done before company comes over in an hour. Your 6-year-old daughter is in the car with you and you’re in a hurry. Picture the three cars ahead of you. The first car is driven by an 89-year-old man named Ed and he is driving between 40 and 45 miles an hour in a 50 mph zone. A Saint Joseph’s student is driving the second car and her name is Jenna. The third car is a driven by a man named Paul and his 5-year-old son Doug is in the car with him.

You become very annoyed at the rate of speed as you watch the clock tick. You then decide you can pass everyone so you can get your cheese and crackers before your company arrives. There is a dump truck that just pulled out of the quarry driven by Frank headed your way.

Picture the names of the people you could have potentially killed. (Frank in the dump truck will probably survive but you won’t if you hit him.) Then add the word “law” after the person’s name as in Tina’s Law which is named for a woman killed by a reckless, suspended driver. Go home and think about Tina’s family and your own and then get up and drive like a human being. I don’t want to have to read about you in the paper.