Many people have remarked that this past summer went by in a flash, and Labour Day weekend always brings thoughts of fall leaves, cooler weather and back-to-school time.
This is the time when teachers gird their loins, parents celebrate and drivers need a reminder that kids will be on the roads and buses.
It’s frustrating that police need to keep reminding drivers that they legally must stop on both sides of the road when a bus arm is out and lights are flashing, but every year, drivers run through the lights and kids have close calls.
It is incredible that people can drive right by a giant yellow bus with an arm out and red lights flashing because they aren’t paying attention. And it doesn’t matter if the child is getting out and staying on the bus side of the road – you still have to stop because it’s the law, and you can’t always see tiny children until it’s too late.
Texting and driver inattention to the road are as big a problem now as they were a few years ago, and it seems some people haven’t learned that answering the phone, reading that text or rubbernecking are never as important as a life.
Police are constantly reminding people yet constantly attending accident scenes that are a result of a careless drivers.
The fact OPP Const. Jay Denorer had to make a plea to drivers travelling past accident scenes to put their phones down and keep driving so victims’ families weren’t notified of a tragedy via social media is disturbing.
Drivers of all ages need to pay more attention to the road and surroundings so lives can be saved. Smart phones are a way of life now, but if people keep feeling like it is their right to behave like paparazzi and blast tragic or embarrassing pictures on social media, I can see new privacy laws coming in our future.
And it will be our own fault.
Need we even mention that taking those photos while behind the wheel of an automobile is illegal?
