To The Editor:
Recently, I am hearing complaints from all over this valley, about how many of us feel unsafe on our roads, paved and otherwise.
A recent Valley Reporter featured a select person monitoring traffic as per the posted 35 mph limit.
Time for some education -- legal and otherwise.
The posted limit is simply the legal posted limit -- it is not always the safe and recommended speed. That is up to our good judgment.
Vermont law states that many factors should cause us to adjust our speeds i.e.: weather, darkness, curves, hills, gravel, other road users, etc.
Driving well requires constant attention to these factors and more. We alone are responsible for operating safely in all conditions.
You cannot do a safe 35 mph on a back road, if the road has recently been graded, and now it begins to rain -- these are instant slippery winter conditions -- and without "snows" I might add.
My opinion, the cheapest and simplest solution is employing a local constable to enforce safe and proper speeds and behaviors on our local roads! They would not need lots of training to write a few warnings and citations and their job would mostly be education. Yes, they may lose a few friends, but we all would be safer. Remember, we are talking about horses, cows, children, grandchildren, etc. not necessarily in that order.
In addition, our driving environment is about to radically change as of next week.
Schools are open again, and all our travel will be impacted. We all need to take notice! We all need to adjust our speeds and habits to suit the added traffic and vulnerable road users!
We are talking about children, their parents and caregivers!
Please join me in traveling the posted limits, or slower in our villages. Help set a good example for more naive and or less responsible operators. Let's all leave 5 minutes earlier so that rushing somewhere is not an issue -- am I asking too much?
Cellphones down, heads up -- enjoy our bucolic state!
Buckle up!
John Lynch
Moretown
