Well, I can hear that another winter has passed us by and folks are out enjoying the early spring weather.
For those of you who ride motorcycles, I would like to request that you stop gunning your engine in populated areas please. I can put up with barely the sound of a loud bike at idle, but when you romp on the gas and it shakes the windows of my car, then you are just getting on my nerves.
I know you like to hear the sound of your bike, I get that. And it helps drivers know you are there, but it doesn’t need to be that loud. A lot of you wear ear plugs when you are riding, but the rest of society doesn’t carry them around with them on the off chance a motorcycle is going to be near them.
Another thing I can hear are the cars on Silver Star Road racing to get up the hill — racing being the operative word. It amazes me the number of people that can’t read the 50 kilometre an hour sign just before BX school. How did you get a drivers license if you can’t read the sign? The posted speed limit is not a suggestion, it is the law. Even though spring break was recently, many people were ignoring the speed limit sign and racing up the hill.
What is that going to get you, up the hill two minutes faster than the people that you pass? Who cares? I care more about the people walking or cycling on that strip of road.
I walk frequently on that stretch of road and am constantly aware of the vehicles passing me some doing in excess of 80 kilometres an hour leaving a trail of dust to blow into my face. Thanks but no thanks.
I would also like to point out another sign that some people choose to ignore — the yield sign at roundabouts.
Recently, my husband was using the 35th Avenue roundabout when a driver cut him off completely, ignoring the yield sign in his face.
Those yield signs mean that you wait until you have room to enter the roundabout without cutting anyone else off. Thank you for upsetting my husband, and thank goodness my husband has good reflexes and was able to stomp on his brakes to avoid hitting you.
Another sign I would like to point out to pedestrians is the walk and don’t walk signals at traffic lights.
These also apply 24 hours a day, seven days a week and they apply to everyone. Don’t give me the finger when you are crossing against a light and I blow my horn at you.
You are impeding traffic and are in the wrong, not me. Pedestrians have the right of way at uncontrolled intersections, not controlled with traffic lights. And for those of you who think your text, phone call or whatever is on your hand held device is a priority, it can wait.
Pay attention to what is going on around you. We all live in this world. You are not any more important than me and my life matters just as much as yours does.
For goodness sake people, open your eyes, be aware of what is going on around you and maybe, just maybe, you can learn to appreciate the beautiful area we live in.
L. Piercey
Vernon
