Dear Editor, The Anguillian
For some time, I have been concerned about the driving habits of some drivers on the island. First, too many drivers have their high beams on at night and will never dim them when another car is coming toward them , even when that vehicle signals with its own lights. They insist on maximum illumination without any regard to how it blinds their fellow drivers.
Secondly, there are those drivers who never use their directional signals – or they turn them on just as they are turning without any advanced warning. This can result in accidents. A friend tells about driving along on a straight highway and, with no cars coming in the opposite direction, he started to pass the slower car in front of him. But as he was halfway passed, the car ahead suddenly, and without any warning or directional signal, turned to the right, right in front of him, requiring him to jam on the brakes to barely avoid a collision.
Another safety point has to do with those who walk along the roads at night. Instead of wearing light coloured or white clothing, they too often wear dark clothing, walking forward on the left hand side of the road with their backs to traffic. They are supposed to walk on the right facing oncoming traffic so they can see cars coming towards them – and if a car is too close to the side of the road, they can jump off to the side. When you drive behind a person on the left in dark clothing, with his back to you so he cannot see you, and another car is coming from the opposite direction, particularly with lights on high beam, it is very difficult to see this individual as you drive along, and a bad accident involving injury can occur.
Those using the roads, driving or walking, should be mindful of these cautionary points for their own good and for the safety of others.
The Concerned Citizen
