Maybe Drivers Should Go Back To School

It seems every year there needs to be reminders for drivers on our roads that when September comes the kiddies are back in school and we need to be extra careful with the youngsters running about often not looking where they are going. It is up to drivers to pay attention where they are driving and to obey the rules of the road but often, in our busy world, we tend to not think enough! Our children are back in school but sometimes it looks like drivers in Knowlton need to be sent to the Principal's office for a good old fashioned lashing!

Today I watched as the bright yellow school bus rumbled to a stop on Knowlton Road and began letting kids out after school. I could barely believe my eyes when a car when roaring past the school bus! Even with the swing-out stop sign and flashing red lights this complete idiot risked the lives of children and sped past the school bus! My blood literally ran cold at the thought of what could have happened! I imagine the kids who had gotten off the bus were a bit shaken as well...but the incident didn't finish there!

The driver of the car who had sped past the bus backed-up his car sharply and pulled alongside the school bus and began screaming at the bus driver! Goodness gracious a person has to be completely inebriated to pull such a reckless move. And while the school bus was full of kids this driver began hurling insults and very loud screams at the bus driver! The children must have been petrified to be subject to such an event taking place between two adults engaged in such senseless violence! What an example for our children.

Are these people drunk behind the wheel at 3:30 in the afternoon to be so disregarding of traffic laws? I hope the bus driver or someone had the presence of mind to get the idiots license plate number as that infraction warrants a sever fine, demerit points and if I were in charge they would be flogged publicly in front of the Mill Pond.

But wait...we've also heard stories of bus drivers in Knowlton arriving at a four way stop with other vehicles and just cutting other drivers off taking the right of way as if it were their right because they were in a yellow submarine! Jumping jalapenos! Even a school bus driver should be expected to follow the fundamental rules of the road shouldn't they? With over sized vehicles and trucks constantly careening through the streets of Lac Brome on weekdays as if they owned the streets and were above the law it is surprising that there have not been more accidents. It appears the police are unwilling to focus any attention on the free-for-all attitude on our streets as large semi-trailers come into town at high speed grinding their engine brakes clearly double the speed limit and then these gargantuan machines muscle their way through Knowlton's narrow streets daring any pedestrian or personal vehicle to mess with them!

But I don't want to stray off topic; I am talking today about dangerous and blatant vehicular safety violations and not the inevitable traffic congestion that we see more and more of due to the growth of Lac Brome.

Last week as I drove through Knowlton I came to the crosswalk in front of the Post Office and an elderly woman stepped into the crosswalk so naturally I came to a stop since she had the right of way. Would you believe that the person behind my car began honking at me! I waited for the woman to get across the road and then drove forward to the stop sign and this dolt pulled past me without stopping and was actually yelling and waving his fist at me! What a display of sheer mental defectiveness!

Those crosswalks are there for a reason and in most provinces in Canada people stop courteously and allow pedestrians to cross but here even a young mother pushing a stroller won't even get a brake if she's waiting to cross!

I have been driving past the Rona coming into Lac Brome where the speed limit is 70 km/h and reducing to 50 km/h and been passed by a car; not only was I passed but the car in front of me was passed by some twit crossing a solid yellow line while both of us were doing the speed limit! Passing two cars is beyond illegal it enters into the realm of utter stupidity! I followed the car; wanting to get a license plate number as I suspected it was likely some Montreal driver who was just acting like Knowlton was a city suburb but the car actually pulled into a residence on Benoit street! So someone speeding, passing two cars in a no passing zone, is doing so within 2 km of their home? Don't statistics say this is where most accidents occur?

I've driven on Lakeside towards Knowlton and had people pull out of their winding, gated driveways and proceed to pass me on the winding road! I was doing 10 km/h over the 50km/h speed limit and they flew past me! I sped up to clock their speed and they entered past the yacht club and into Knowlton at a whopping 90 km/h!

And this is only another event in a long list of events showcasing the moronic driving attitudes of so many people in our province and this town.

I've been walking to the IGA and seen one of these weekend warriors on their motorbikes literally do a wheelie from the Centre D'electronique all the way to Stone Haven on Knowlton Road! Riding at such high speeds on one wheel on a super powered bike in an area where women and children walk is insane! Of course we all know that every summer weekend Knowlton is polluted with loud motorbikes that destroy the peace and quiet of our town and seeing groups of what some people call "Village People Wannabees" romping around in leather chaps with outrageously noisy motorcycles travelling in packs is enough to cause most people to wonder if Quebec is the one place where kitschy cross-dressing and delinquent environmental disruption is completely acceptable. Many states in the USA or progressive town councils have "Clean Air Acts" and noise bylaws which strictly enforce decibel limitations...it seems here it is anything goes including speeding, trick driving and ignoring safety to the detriment of public safety!

Most speed limits are considered a laughing matter these days and the school zone in front of Edwards school on Knowlton Road has got to be the most ignored speed limit in the Eastern Townships! The limit is 30 km/h during weekdays during the posted hours but who hasn't seen large trucks, motorcycles, pick-ups and sedans catapulting through the school zone during recess at over 70 km/h? Try going 30 km/h in that zone and you're likely to have some half-wit honking behind you or passing you!

We all have seen examples of such poor driving all over Knowlton; of course it happens everywhere but let's hope that we don't have to experience a tragedy before we get serious about bad drivers. It would be nice to see the local police being more aggressive against the bad drivers in Lac Brome; goodness it would be like shooting fish in a barrel if they gave out tickets in the school zone!

Comments on the drivers in our area can be made by going to the DK forum

Last Spring we were talking about the loud motorbikes in Knowlton.

The trucks through downtown Lac Brome have caused concern before.