Driving is a Privilege

File this one under things that just confuse me.

Police departments from Will through Lake counties conducted a traffic law enforcement campaign this past week along Route 59. And people are complaining.

Really? Why is it a problem for police to be doing their job?

Last time I checked, it is still illegal to exceed the speed limit. Or text while driving. Or not wear a seat belt. I would love to see every person who does these things get a ticket, every time.

I guess I am that rarest of breeds who has never had a moving violation. Ever. In my life. And, yes, I not only drive on a daily basis, I have been doing so for over 30 years. And, no, I am not a particularly lucky person, I have just chosen to have the law of averages working in my favor.

Everyone, myself included, occasionally exceeds the posted speed limit, particularly when merely keeping up with traffic. But, at least since it has become the law, I absolutely, always wear a seat belt. I actually feel naked driving or as a front-seat passenger without one.

Because I became aware of an accident just last week where the only fatality was the rear seat passenger who was ejected from the vehicle, I will be wearing a seat belt in the back from now on as well.

And I never, ever text while driving. Granted, it has only been recently that I've mastered the art of texting while standing up. Mostly because it has only been a few months since I've had a phone with a QWERTY keyboard. Text me even now and chances are I'll call you anyway. If I'm driving, on my hands-free.

I'm not some goody two shoes. I just like being alive and in one piece. I couldn't live with myself if I caused harm or worse to someone else because I thought I was above the law. Maybe I'm just smart enough to know that I'm not capable of texting and driving at the same time.

Perhaps if I had multiple personalities, each could handle one task? I don't know, I'll have to ask my other selves and see what they think.

Are there other, more serious crimes and problems for the police to be addressing? Absolutely. However, for those affected, I don't know if there could be a more serious crime than a fatal traffic accident caused by someone who thinks they can defy the law, or the laws of physics.

When a 3,000-pound vehicle crashes into another vehicle at a high rate of speed with a human inside, our soft bodies simply cannot sustain that impact without serious consequences. The vehicle stops, the body keeps moving and only a seat belt and not a little bit of luck prevent that soft body from smashing itself inside the confines of that vehicle. 

If it stays inside the vehicle.

Not a week goes by that there is not a serious accident along Route 59. Serious, as defined by requiring medical personnel. How many of these accidents are caused by speeders? By drivers trying to multitask and tweeting their every thought, action and mood? By thinking texting someone that they are on the way is a good idea? 

I'm reminded of a true story told by our local neighborhood police at a community event. There had been much complaining about people speeding through the subdivision and completely ignoring stop signs, one sign on the main street in particular. So, they responded to the neighborhood concerns and had a police car watching that particular stop sign.

The very first car they pulled over for blowing that one stop sign was the neighbor who had complained the longest and loudest. The guy actually got out of his car and yelled at the police that he didn't mean for them to stop him, because he lived there. I couldn't make this up.

So, for that guy and all those who think like him, a word of advice. You may be willing to live with the potential consequences of your bad driving, but the rest of us aren't. Try to remember that driving is a privilege, not a right. Do it the way you are supposed to or don't do it at all. If you have no other way to get to work and support your family, then I guess you better toe the line. Or move to somewhere there is public transportation.