EDITORIAL: Safe driving habits still needed in spring

Posted 4/21/15

Schoolchildren and teachers are increasingly anxious for classes to end, and families are planning for summer vacations.

Each of these seasonal changes, while very welcome, also calls to mind the need to exercise caution when we drive.

As …

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EDITORIAL: Safe driving habits still needed in spring

Posted

April is two-thirds over, and we’re enjoying a return to warm, spring weather.

Farmers are irrigating their fields, and rows of emerging plants are replacing barren ground with orderly lines of green.

Schoolchildren and teachers are increasingly anxious for classes to end, and families are planning for summer vacations.

Each of these seasonal changes, while very welcome, also calls to mind the need to exercise caution when we drive.

As farmers work their fields, they often drive large, heavy tractors and farm equipment on county roads and highways. That means other drivers must watch for large, slow-moving farm equipment and pass with care, without creating additional hazards.

The return of spring means the resumption of highway construction. Projects already have begun on several area highways, including routes to Cody, Billings, Wapiti, Lovell and others. Some projects will last all summer, while others will be shorter in duration.

Drivers should remain alert and watchful around construction sites, especially when flaggers are present and when traffic is stopped. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for distracted drivers to crash into the back of a line of vehicles stopped for construction. The results can be harmful to vehicles and their occupants, and sometimes deadly.

A Gillette-area bus driver was charged last fall and will stand trial following a crash in May when the bus she was driving rammed into a line of vehicles, causing three men’s deaths. Their vehicles were stopped for a chip-sealing operation.

As the weather warms up, children spill out of their classrooms and homes to play outside — and sometimes in the streets as well. Small children may forget to look for traffic when they follow a ball or a pet that got away from them.

Children riding bicycles sometimes forget to look for cars, or they may stray into traffic when they lose control of their bikes.

Most of the time, spring and summer driving is less challenging than driving in the winter. But, even in good weather, we must remain vigilant.

Four people died in separate rollover crashes on Wyoming highways on April 3 and April 5, marking Good Friday and Easter with sorrow and grief for their loved ones.

Each of those deaths was likely preventable. The weather was good; the roads were clear.

But none of the drivers or passengers who were killed were wearing seat belts, and all were ejected during the crashes.

Alcohol or controlled substance use was investigated in two of the crashes; driver inattention in another.

The driver of the fourth vehicle fell asleep at the wheel, resulting in the death of an unrestrained passenger.

Each of those people may have thought they would be exceptions to the rule, but they ended up being tragic statistics instead.

And for those of us, young and not-so-young, who text, email, check Facebook  or do other things with their cell phones while they’re driving: Please don’t. You’re putting your life, and the lives of others, at risk.

A reminder: It is illegal to text while driving on Wyoming highways, regardless of age or driving experience. Some municipalities ban it as well.

We hope spring and summer 2015 will be sources of wonderful adventures and memories — and we pray that you all stay safe.

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