Courtesy of the Road

I understand receiving your driver’s license is a privilege.In order to receive your license there’s a test you have to pass. This test requires being aware of courtesy of the road.

    I go to Life’s Worc, a nonprofit program with other disabled adults. In our van we can fit five or six people and a support counselor who acts as the driver.

I recently witnessed several inconsiderate people who drive like lunatics. They swear and speed while driving, and it’s disrespectful to myself and to others. The counselors who drive the agency vehicles get upset that they the other drivers have no respect for laws of the road.

    When our drivers are behind the wheel, they very carefully respect the rules of the road. There are laws that other drivers don’t abide by — such as passing over solid lines, crossing double yellow lines when agency vans are doing the speed limit.

    Other drivers may not slow down, or they stop in traffic without providing appropriate signals for the benefit of the following drivers.

In my opinion, I think the roads on Long Island have become so congested that you would think other drivers would be much more careful — but instead, they seem to be in a rush, driving as if there were no other vehicles on the road.

    On the rear of the agency vans, there are bumper stickers that read “This vehicle does not exceed the speed limit.” (The speed limit is posted on each street.) When we do abide by the rules, other drivers look at us like we’re crazy. Sometimes they get aggressive towards us, passing us illegally and sometimes even giving us the middle finger or some other unkind gesture. They blast the radio while driving, and are sometimes not patient when they see an agency van. Some people don’t use their directional on the car while passing into other lanes — and it’s not considerate to those of us who use our directionals and abide by law, setting good examples to teenagers who are just starting to drive.

    Texting and driving have become a serious issue. There have been many fatalities in the past couple of years due to texting while driving. I have witnessed many times in traffic and at stop signs or red lights people are focused on looking down at their phones  instead of focusing on traffic lights and overflowing traffic.

   Please be aware of the rules of the road and pay attention while driving. You never know what can happen.