I
am a retired senior living in Oceanside. I try to be a progressive type of person and go with the flow of life and remain active.
In my working years I drove many types of vehicles from cars to big rigs all over Canada.
Every day in my outings and various shopping excursions I run into what can be considered bad and rude drivers with an attitude.
Most drivers are impatient or do not drive defensively and many are distracted with other things around them.This seems to be the norm in our area and I see it every day in and around town.
Some of these bad habits are driving too slow, not signaling, speeding, parking poorly and ignoring others just so you can be first.
These driving habits are not just a matter of being a bad driver but relate around attitude and a feeling of entitlement due to age.
We have all had complaints and seen editorials in the paper about poor drivers but I am focusing on the seniors in this area because they seem to think that it is OK to do wrong, be rude, drive poorly and have a me-first attitude, all due to their age.
Old age, poor memory and slower response times does not give seniors the right to behave badly or stop showing good manners.
Driving is a privilege and one should consider yourself lucky to have a licence and still be driving at an elderly age even if the senses are not as sharp as they used to be.
Try to show a little courtesy on the road and give another driver a break occasionally and, above all, drive defensively.
Don Reitsma
Parksville
