‘Road Boulders’ Are Making Roadways More Dangerous
‘Road Boulders’ Are Making Roadways More Dangerous
Editor,
Much noise has been made lately about the dangers of speed.
I listen with humor the smug comments from self-professed “road boulders” who seem to think they have the market on common sense cornered.
I use the term smug after some reflection. How else would one describe someone who tools along at 10s of miles per hour slower than the prevailing traffic? Assuming, of course, they live to tell about it, they will happily and proudly proclaim what fools we speeders be.
Righteous and law-abiding though they may be, one must seriously call into question their wisdom.
Darwin would have a field day with those who choose a 3,000-pound moving object in which to “buck the trend” and “prove their point.”
As we all (should) know, it is not speed that kills, but difference in speed, or to use the tired old falling metaphor, it is the sudden stop at the end.
It is physically impossible for me to run into the car in front of me as long as we are traveling at the same speed.
Conversely, it is physically impossible for that jerk on my rear bumper to hit me if I move over to the right and let the idiot pass.
I suppose when all is said and done, it’s really just simple high school physics that has the final say in this debate.
As any highway engineer will tell you, roads have a “natural speed” at which traffic tends to flow safely and efficiently.
It is the arrogant speed demon who whips in and out of traffic and the smug road boulders who in fact put the rest of us at risk.
Everybody else is smart enough to either keep up, or get the heck out of the way.
Bob Easterday
Hollister
