Monday, May 4, 2009

Monday sketchbook: a driving force

Driving in Utah is waaaaay different than driving in Oregon. Oregon drivers are laid back and courteous (for the most part). In Utah it seems that driving is a competition rather than a mode of transportation.

Case in point.

We were driving between Spanish Fork and Salt Lake where the posted speed limit was 65. The pace of traffic, however, was 75+. Then we came upon a work zone, complete with "Reduced Speed Ahead" and "55 MPH" and "Fines Double" signs.

Well, knowing that May is Transportation Safety Awareness Month, and as a former UDOT and current ODOT employee, and further knowing that the No. 1 cause of work zone crashes is excessive speed, like an idiot, I slowed down!

Big mistake!

I had people zooming past me on both sides, not giving me "welcome to Utah" gestures. And I had only slowed to 65! I can just imagine what would have happened had I actually dropped down to the posted legal limit!

It then occurred to me that the majority of the population along the Wasatch Front professes to believe the 12th Article of Faith, which says "We believe...in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

Every time I go back, I realize how much I miss the mountains. But the traffic? Not a bit!

No comments:

Post a Comment