Unsafe drivers endanger children

Is it my imagination, or are there more rude and unobservant drivers on the road today, including in our own Oak Harbor? It is only a matter of time before we have headlines indicating that some child was killed by one of these drivers.

Increasingly, I see more drivers running red lights, rolling through stop signs or driving well over the speed limit in a well marked school zone during school hours. Is life so rushed, that these individuals must ignore driving laws to get where they are going, at the cost of the rest of society?

While this behavior does allow me, as a volunteer firefighter, to get more hands-on training because of their carelessness when they run into another car, it is a job I would prefer to be practicing on mannequins only.

It is difficult to know if these drivers are locals or visitors to our community, but the bottom line is the same. We are putting people at risk with this kind of driving. Our law enforcement officers are doing the best they can, but traffic control is not their only job, and they can’t be everywhere at once.

For the small minority of those drivers who show such a visible demonstration of lack of concern for anyone else, please slow down and follow the rules of the road. School is almost out for the summer, and the school zones will not be in effect, but the children of our city will be out all over town, playing and having fun. Don’t ruin it for them, or for those of us who are responding to another avoidable tragedy.

Bob Wallin

Oak Harbor

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