When it comes to driving CR240, there is no shortage of failed IQ tests.
#1: People select a road with a speed limit of 45 when they intend to go 55-60.
#2: When they encounter someone going at or near the speed limit, they tailgate – following at an extremely unsafe distance.
Why? Tardiness, aggressiveness, entitlement, self-orientation, compensating? Who can say what is causal?
Presumably the goal is to get the car in front to speed up. Yet, according to MIT’s Traffic Research Center, the majority of people slow down or brake when being tailgated. So, the result is the exact opposite of the presumed goal.
#3 Do the math. Let’s say it’s about 25 miles from Forest Lakes or Vallecito to Durango. What do people gain by going 55 instead of 45 over a 25 mile distance? 6 minutes.
You put others at risk for 6 lousy minutes. I’ll walk with a limp the rest of my life because of another driver’s carelessness. I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go through that experience, much less our precious loved ones.
If you are tailgating, you’re not as good a driver as you think. Try leaving the recommended 10-13 car lengths (3 seconds) between you and the car in front of you.
Maybe leave the house 6 minutes earlier. Or just drive like every car on the road has your loved ones in it. And hopefully other drivers will do the same for you.
Linda Simmons
Bayfield
