The way people drive, drives me crazy!

The thing is... I'm not the only one complaining. I get many letters on a regular basis, from concerned West End residents, worried about drivers who constantly fail to stop at stop signs, fail to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks, ignore school buses and their flashing lights, exceed the legal speed limit, etc.

What is everyone's damn hurry that they can't even slow down and what is so urgent about someone's day that they can't even stop to let a child, walking to school, cross the street? It's downright shameful!

From February 2 to February 13, the 21st edition of the Association du transport écolier du Québec (ATEQ) School Transportation Safety Campaign will be taking place, featuring the theme "Wô, minute! Merci de penser à notre sécurité". In English, it will be running with the more subdued, slightly more boring "Hold it!" rallying cry, but the point of the campaign remains the same: drivers will be reminded to be extra careful around school buses and teachers and parents will be asked to remind children of the safety rules and precautions they should keep in mind.

It's mind-boggling that we even require such campaigns to remind adults of the obvious: to slow down around young kids. Yet, the sad reality is that too many motorists fail to stop for school buses flashing their lights. What convoluted sense of entitlement allows these drivers to think that they can disregard the law and common sense and breeze through stop signs, crosswalks and the odd pedestrian or cyclist unfortunate enough to be in their path?

There's a joke circulating on cyberspace, which pretends to be a Ministère des Transports du Québec Official Guide for new drivers in the province. Among the many "recommendations" the tongue- in-cheek document offers are the following:

1) Turn signals will give away your next move. A confident Quebec driver avoids using them.

2). Under no circumstance should you maintain a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, because somebody will fill in the space, putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

3) Braking is to be done as hard and as late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to strengthen your leg muscles.

Are some of you chuckling while reading this? Of course! Comedy is only funny when it mirrors the absurdity of our daily lives and accurately reflects our reality. Drivers do all of the above, on a regular basis. Some of it is human nature, some of it is associated with this sense of urgency we experience every single day in North America and some are acquired bad habits, which have firmly entrenched themselves in our daily lives.

The truth is this, however: Some accidents (like the 8-year-old boy who darted out between two cars near Somerled this past December and was killed) are, by all accounts, simply unfortunate accidents. But many others can be prevented. Being better, more responsible drivers is the first step. The next (equally important) step belongs to the boroughs. By lowering the speed limit, they force those, who would otherwise not make a conscientious effort to do so, to slow down. It doesn't really matter how drivers come about their better habits, just as long as they do.