Editor: Re: Bruce’s column, “Use patience on local roads,” in the June 22 edition.
I have a 49-year-old son who lives and works in Austin, TX, a city of about 1 million people. He started a job there in July 1998 and has resided there for the past 25 years. He is very accustomed to driving in heavy traffic.
He came with his son to spend a few days with us in celebration of Father’s Day. He had a rental vehicle from the Detroit airport and had occasion to drive around in Chatham for a few days. It has been seven years since he was in Chatham and has driven here.
On the first evening after giving his son a tour of schools he had attended, churches, etc. he arrived home and the first words out of his mouth were, “What has happened to Chatham drivers? They’re all crazy out there. Jumping lanes, cutting off other drivers. Obviously, since I lived here, the speed limit has become a suggestion, not a law. Is there any traffic enforcement done at all?”
I am taking into consideration the fact that in Austin, and Texas in general, if you cut off another driver in traffic, there is a possibility the other driver may pull a gun and shoot you, but I do not think we are ready for that solution just yet.
I have watched the traffic situation and drivers’ attitudes deteriorate over the last several years. It was very enlightening to hear the comments from someone who has a snapshot in his head of Chatham traffic seven years ago to compare to today’s mayhem.
David Goldsmith
Chatham
