Editor, The News:
Re: Garbage truck worker passes away (The News, Nov. 4).
I was very sorry to hear that Dean McLean, who was struck by a car that passed a garbage truck, has died.
I find myself frustrated and angry at drivers who find it necessary to take my life and others in their hands by careless, reckless driving.
I realize there is probably an ongoing investigation into this death and perhaps no decision on who is at fault, but on a daily basis I see other drivers speeding, passing dangerously and behaving recklessly.
Just last week I was driving down River Road at about 3:30 a.m. and found myself behind the street-cleaning truck. It was going slower than the posted 50 km/h limit, but it was in the wee hours of the morning and there wasn’t a lot of traffic. However, eventually a couple of vehicles ended up behind me. I was going as slow as the truck because I couldn’t pass where I couldn’t see what was in front of the truck. This didn’t stop the two cars behind me, despite the fact that the road was curved, there was a stop sign in front of the street cleaner, and you really couldn’t see what if anything was coming. They both raced past us and went through the stop sign without stopping.
Every morning that I am driving (it’s part of my job, otherwise I would be safe at home), at about 4 a.m., the speeding vehicles start racing through Maple Ridge. It is probably fair to say the average speed on Dewdney Trunk Road is 80 km/h, and 100 km/h on Lougheed Highway. Vehicles race from light to light, weaving in and out of traffic, and seem to find it necessary to drive in the passing lane.
If everyone could just slow down a little, and exercise some patience, life would be so much easier. Leave for work earlier if you think you are going to be late. Don’t pass what you can’t see in front of, and remember, there are people with families that love them on the roads. Stop putting yourself first and show some self control.
Deborah Plett
Maple Ridge
