Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to the recent article
”
Anatomy of a Crash
”
which appeared in the Dispatch a few weeks ago. The losses from
recent traffic accidents of Bryan Trejo, Julio Gonzales, and my
good friend Norm Watenpaugh and now City Planner Cydney Casper, has
sent the community reeling with pain.
Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to the recent article “Anatomy of a Crash” which appeared in the Dispatch a few weeks ago. The losses from recent traffic accidents of Bryan Trejo, Julio Gonzales, and my good friend Norm Watenpaugh and now City Planner Cydney Casper, has sent the community reeling with pain.
FSLK 2×2, my license plate: FS (Full Stop), LK (Look ), 2X2 (both ways twice). This motto or Golden Rule of the Road has served me well over the years. Let’s take a closer look.
n Slowing down. It takes time to come to a full stop at intersections. If we slow ourselves down, so will our vehicles. Then we have time to look both ways at least twice, (or more in heavy traffic) before we proceed into traffic. I have seen at least two accidents where people made a split-second decision, a wrong one.
n Blind spots. Everyone is familiar with various blind spots: windshield pillars, trees, trucks and cars, etc. But are you aware the blind spots can “move,” while you are moving? A pedestrian or moving vehicle can hide in a blind spot while you are moving, but if YOU ARE NOT MOVING, that object will move out of the blind spot! (The reasoning for a FULL STOP). Again this takes a little time.
n Mistakes. We all make mistakes, whether we are children or adults, drivers or pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists; we are all human beings. We all have “blown” a stoplight or stop sign a time or two. This is where defensive driving comes in. If we take the time to go a little slower we have more time to respond to an error that someone else makes. However when two mistakes are made at the same time, the result can be tragic. I once witnessed a Dad go through a 4-way stop at 6th and Miller, with three young kids following Dad, all on bicycles. If a car or truck had blown through the stop at the same time, you can guess what would have happened. What a great job this Dad did of teaching the kids what NOT to do!
Our challenge is to change bad driving habits. We simply must learn from these recent tragedies. When the Gilroy Police Department issued 25 citations in one day on the streets around the high school, people responded. Now you can almost see no one going faster than 25mph there on 10th Street. But, we can’t expect the police, schools or any other agency to create safety on our city or roads around us. The same thing applies to the bad habit of “slow and go” right turns at stop signs, red lights or blinking red lights. I suspect this may have happened in at least one of the recent fatal accidents.
We the people of South County are the ones who can really make safety on the road happen! We simply must do it, by setting the right example with our driving, teaching our youth correct driving and cycling habits, correcting bad habits and not allow bicyclists to weave in and out of traffic, etc. The laws of the road and authority need to be respected. Gilroy is Great. Are you willing to make it even greater, safer? We can make a difference! Let’s roll folks!
Marvin Thomas, Gilroy
