Motorists need to wake up

Madam – I write this with a heavy heart and much anger.

Have people in Newcastle forgotten how to drive? This week alone I was almost the victim of three separate accidents in the CBD! One motorist pulled out of a parking spot on the main road without bothering to check for traffic, as I was about to pass him. It took some swift maneuvering, thumping heart and plenty of swear words to avoid a tragedy. And what did he do? Flip me the bird!

I am disgusted and astonished at the rate of which some motorists seem not to care. Basic driving skills are being flouted, literally, at every turn. One only has to drive through town – I say ‘drive’ with skepticism because I’m SURE some people don’t know what this means!

I have the right to rant! I’ve been a driver for almost 10 years and was involved, due to negligence on the part of certain taxi drivers, in two accidents, one of which was almost fatal. I admit to my share of ‘road rage’ but in the past few years the incompetence on roads has accelerated to an unnaceptable extent!

It seems the general consensus in Newcastle is to get to where you need to go, as quickly as possible and consequences be damned. Gunning through red robots, skipping stop signs, switching lanes and directions with no indicators…all the norm now instead of the exception.

And I’m now gatvol! It’s all fair and well to stop people and charge them for not wearing a seatbelt, but maybe the traffic officers should start charging people for not having any common sense when driving too!

And this problem exists across the board! From the SUV driving residents to the taxi drivers, it seems no-one cares a jot about their own safety or the safety of those on the roads along with them. When will it end? Every other day we are reading in the paper about this person dying in an accident or so many people injured and we’re quick to point fingers and say ‘Ag shame’. But we don’t make any effort at all to be more considerate on the roads ourselves!

WAKE UP NEWCASTLE