Don Wiskin | Jan 23, 2019


Driving in the beautiful Frontenac counties, I cannot believe how many people tailgate. I was behind a car and school bus and the driver of the bus was moving left to right in the lane so he could see the car behind him in the mirror. If you cannot see the mirrors on the bus, or truck in front of you, they can’t see you.

The sign on the back of the bus asks you to stay far behind. What is wrong with these drivers today? They put our children (and themselves) at risk for what reason? A few minutes off the time it takes to get home.

When I was learning to drive, I was told to pick a spot, let’s say a sign, when the vehicle in front of you passes the sign, count 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, I should get to 1005 by the time I pass the same sign. That is supposed to be 5 car lengths behind.

We don’t live in the big city. Why are we in such a rush to die or kill someone else? Our response time to take our foot off the gas and onto the brake after the car your tailgating brake lights come on. Not enough time to react. I pull over to the side of the road to let tailgates pass. We need to respect the up to 2 tons of metal we are guiding down the road.

When you’re walking, do you bump into people or push them if they walk slowly. No. Do we smash our shopping carts into other shoppers? No. Then why do we think we can push the vehicle or force them to speed up by tailgating?

As I get older, I go to more funerals then weddings. Life has a value which dollars can never replace. Value your life as well as others around you. Do the right thing and keep your distance behind the vehicle in front of you. Why do you think they want cars that drive for you? Because you’re not doing a good job saving lives? PS Stop littering. Keep Ontario beautiful.

Don Wiskin

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