We have to say it every year around this time.
It’s always a bit different, but it’s always some variation of, “Next week the kids go back to school, so slow down and watch for them.”
While it’s true that things are about to get a whole lot busier around area schools – especially between 8 and 9 a.m. and 2 and 3 p.m. – should we really have to remind people to watch for children and slow down when they are around?
Yes.
Time is a precious commodity these days.
People are loading up their schedules with more and more in an attempt to win the so-called rat race, and seldom do they incorporate travel time into those schedules – or at least not enough of it.
And in loading up those schedules, they load up their minds.
Distractions – whether being physically distracted by texts, emails or Facebook notifications or just mental ones like worrying about things beyond one’s control – are pulling our attention from where it needs to be far too often.
At least two motorcyclists have been transported to hospital this summer because people have turned left in front of them, crossing their lane.
One of those motorcyclists died from his injuries. Whatever factors were present for those accidents, attentiveness – or rather a lack of it – certainly played its part.
So, yes, we apparently do need to remind people to pay attention to what’s happening around them on the roads.
Because while time is a precious commodity, it’s not as precious as our community’s children, who, we remind you again, are heading back to school next week.