Editor:
On April 1, a healthy 55-year-old woman, loving and full of life, a daughter, mother, grandmother, wife, sister, aunt and friend, lost her life in Cloverdale (Collisions claim two lives, April 6).
Why, because one driver failed to stop in time as the jogger was legally crossing in a crosswalk.
It is long past time to take action about bad, careless or negligent drivers. As we drive in Surrey, every day we see drivers running a red light, turning right without stopping, talking on handheld telephones and driving recklessly.
We feel we must be “defensive” every minute we are pedestrians or driving in our car when we follow the laws, drive the speed limit and take time to look for pedestrians.
We continuously see other drivers who are a danger on the road but not a danger to themselves as they go on living after their negligent driving. But they are a danger to others who are innocent.
It is time to increase the penalties for breaking the law in a vehicle, even for minor infractions.
We wonder how many times some drivers speed around a right-turn corner without stopping and looking. Too many pedestrians’ and bicyclists’ lives are being lost by individuals being hit by cars while obeying the law. We have no way to protect ourselves.
We need government bodies to make and implement laws and punishments that take these drivers off the road – in the case of a death they cause, to be permanently banned from driving! We need police to be positioned at vulnerable sites to catch these drivers and issue tickets that include a cost high enough to discourage repeat offenders.
As the population grows and the number of dangerous drivers increases, we need increased protections so no other family has to suffer the loss of an innocent, much-loved family member.
Suzanne Jacobsen, Surrey
