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November 09, 2005
Agressive Drivers
Am I seeing it incorrectly or are the drivers in Portland getting more agressive? I try to stick to the posted speed limits or a couple of miles over (maybe that's my problem!) and every day I see cars behind me who are following way too close. When I see a big SUV with its lights on directly behind me, I think I know how a little fish feels when he sees a shark on his tail!
Also, is anybody noticing that a lot of cars won't stop to let pedestrians cross in stores' parking lots? Drivers always seem to be in such a hurry to get somewhere!
Posted by admin at November 9, 2005 12:55 PM
Comments
After having spent 18 years living in Portland and then experiencing the driving habits of other locations, working with the Military over the years, I drove through Portland for the first time again, just this afternoon.
To my surprise, after being out of state for the past 3 years, I found that it is still a nightmare driving in Portland. Nothing but the scenery has changed since the last time I was through there.
My son, who is now 20, dubbed Portland as "Little Nashville" back when he was 10 years old and riding the bus to school everyday.
It is really sad when our children, at such a young age, notice how bad the driving is in Portland.
The even more sad thing is, no one has slowed down or gotten the idea of safety, even after so many children have been killed on the roads of Portland.
The only conclusion that I can think of is the parents do not seem to realize that driving aggressively is teaching the kids to drive aggresively, and therefore we see the heartbreaking headlines in the Portland Leader that reads the story of those parents worst nightmares becoming a reality.
The even worst thing is that even if the story isn't about us, it still hits home as everyone knows those children. Yet, no one has slowed down.
The thing that bothers me the most about the aggressive driving in Portland, is how many children will lose their lives from a bad example of how to drive.
I have experienced those nightmare phone calls of hearing my son say first thing on the phone, "Mom, I'm ok, but I flipped my truck," and then the even worse ones of a stranger calling to let you know your child is still alive, but he needs someone to give him a ride home because his car is wrecked.
With the examples set in Portland and then the ever so influencing movies, "Fast and Furious" 1 and 2, it seems like a lost cause to get it through childrens minds to slow down.
The even more dissappointing thing is, the parents haven't done one thing to slow down or to make it a point of showing that they are making the effort to slow down.
I can't help but to feel the fear of the mother's whose children are in the back seat and they are on their way home from a hard day of work.
As the post mentioned above, tailgaiting seems to be a disease in Portland, that desperately needs a cure.
Posted by: D. Nash at December 8, 2005 06:02 PM
Its funny no matter how fast someone goes ahead of you, they still seem to be at that red light when you get to it.......Faster is NOT better, just dummer!!!
Posted by: niki at November 16, 2005 10:38 AM
Yes I think we all are guilty of it at some point in time. Being in to big of a hurry to let the women with the kids and the basket full of groceries to pass.Do we honestly think that riding someones bumper will make us get there faster?
Posted by: ara at November 10, 2005 10:47 AM