This week's topic is near and dear to me, as any of my old friends from high school will attest to. The primary setting is my hometown of Chatham, Mass. — a fishing village many of you may be familiar with.
As we all know, summertime resort communities can get a little crowded once the sun comes out and temperatures start to creep above 50º F. Regardless of how cold the water still is (it's about as cold as taking a swim in your refrigerator), countless tourists flock to the beaches to soak up some sun over the long Memorial Day weekend. How do they get to the beach? The roads!
The topic is drivers. Bad drivers. They can be elderly, young or just plain inept. They all have one thing in common: They collectively possess the ability to make me want to scream expletives out of an open car window while simultaneously pulling my hair out of my scalp. If that isn't enough, they're all awake at the ungodly hour I have to leave for work, causing my drive to take approximately 20 more minutes during the average summer day than it should.
Before anyone jumps all over me about how important tourists are to tourism communities, I'll explain.
Tourists fund the Cape Cod economy, and without them nobody would be able to survive during the winter months — simple as that. However, tourists are notoriously bad drivers on the Cape. They stop in the middle of the road to get a look at the beach. They forget that they're driving because "they're on vacation." I've heard a plethora of excuses. When is forgetting how to drive like a normal human being acceptable "just because you're on vacation?"
The answer should be never. Countless accidents are caused every summer as a result of these careless drivers, among others. If everyone paid attention to what they were doing, and pulled over to the side of the road to take a look at the beach, many of these accidents could be avoided. I'm all for safety — please, vacationers, take a memo. You'll be safer, I'll be safer — it's a win-win situation.
But rest assured, elderly drivers, you haven't escaped my scrutiny. I think there should be a rule that every driver be re-tested at a certain age (say... 60? 65?) to make sure that they are still able to drive effectively — then be tested again every five years afterwards. We've all heard about them — the 80-year-old man who drives into a pool because he mistakes the gas pedal for the brake, the 90-year-old woman who drives out into oncoming traffic without looking and causes a fatal accident and the 84-year-old woman who hit Reese Witherspoon while the actress was jogging.
These stories have become commonplace, and re-testing is something that can be employed to avoid them! If your eyes are so bad that you can't see without leaning over the steering wheel, you probably shouldn't be driving. Likewise, if you can't go at least the speed limit on the highway, you shouldn't be driving. I know it takes a lot of mobility away, but would you rather sacrifice your mobility or suffer the consequences of taking someone's life by accident?
To summarize, learn how to drive better, and pay attention when you're on the road. Everyone. And don't drive drunk — it's not that difficult to call a cab. One of your friends can foot the bill if you don't have enough money. If your friend won't do that, find some new friends.
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KaceyRayder is a junior majoring in English. She can be reached at Kacey.Rayder@tufts.edu.
