Oh boy, slow down. I am excited that it is finally nice out too. I can’t wait to have a couple of days off to enjoy
the weather. However, last weekend I worked and I can tell everyone is feeling good because the average speed in town
rose notably.
We always see an uptick this time of year. Winter is over and it feels like a weight is lifted off us. With the nice
weather comes many people and kids walking and playing around the street. I get it, I feel like driving fast as well, but
we can’t. As the weather gets nicer if anything we need to slow down a bit.
The speed isn’t horrendous overall but suddenly I am seeing a lot of 34 and 35 miles per hour. Does anyone honestly
think driving 4 to 5 miles over the limit saves that much time? In Sleepy Eye, a little faster maybe saves you a minute from one side of town to the other. One minute against the safety of a human life.
I believe that people are not knowingly going faster, it is just happening due to the feeling of spring’s freedom from winter. Since we are not consciously going faster, we need to consciously slow down for safety. Please take the time to think about this and realize that 30 is fast enough. If you ask me, I think 30 on a side street is way too fast. It is easy to forget the impact of speed. Rarely does anything bad happen other than a possible ticket. The real impact is the death of a
person.
I would love to go through my career without having to again explain to a family member that their loved one isn’t
coming home because of an accident. Accident or not, driving a vehicle that kills someone is something that will stay
with you forever.
Hardly worth saving a minute.