Due some mechanical issues, I was without a vehicle for a short time yesterday, requiring me to walk around my neighborhood. And let me tell you–it’s dangerous out there.
My path took me west along Southland Avenue in Oshkosh. And soon I came to the intersection with North Eagle Street. This is a “T” intersection where northbound traffic on Eagle has a stop sign while traffic on Southland does not stop at that intersection. As I started down the little ramp at the corner, a white vehicle with two young ladies in it was approaching on Eagle. I noticed that it was not slowing down while approaching the intersection–so I did not step out into the crosswalk (where I would have had the right of way).
I had eye contact with the woman driving the car as she SPED UP and ran the stop sign–making a right hand turn less than three feet away from me on the curb to head east on Southland. Their windows were rolled up, and there was heavy bass coming from the car, so I knew that yelling at them for damn near hitting me and running a stop sign was not going to be heard anyway. So I collected myself–looked all three ways–and continued on my walk.
The next block of Southland is a long one–with a large retirement community on one side and Oshkosh West High School on the other. But as I approached the next intersection with North Westfield Street–where traffic on Southland has to stop, while cars on Westfield do not–I heard (and then saw) a young man in one of those “tuner” cars (think loud exhaust, non-functional spoilers, matte paint finish) approach the intersection heading west on Southland. His brake lights didn’t even flash as he ran through that stop sign to make a right hand turn onto Westfield at a speed that was at least the 25-miles an hour allowed on that stretch.
Now, I either picked the absolute worst 10-minutes possible to observe driver behavior in Oshkosh–or I caught a relative sample of the increasingly dangerous behavior exhibited by those getting behind the wheel. Being someone who spends a lot of time driving every day, I can say that it is far more likely to be the latter–and not the former.
When I looked into the face of that young woman approaching the first stop sign–where I would have had the right of way–I saw the same look that I see from the countless people that approach roundabouts without stopping, or who gun it in front of traffic already in the roundabout. Often they look right at you as they cut you off–as if to say: “I don’t care that you are supposed to go ahead of me–I’m going”.
It’s the same look I see on the face of drivers that run red lights along College Avenue. I am yet to see someone that looked genuinely surprised that they have come up on a red light. Instead, I see them looking at those of us who just got the green light to make sure they can get through without broadsiding us. And that includes the woman last month that was actually stopped along College for the red for at least a couple of seconds but then drove out right in front of me as I had the green coming off of Radio Road here at the station.
The Fox Valley is not alone in seeing more drivers flat out ignoring the most basic rules of the road. Both Milwaukee and Madison have reported increasing numbers of red-light running crashes and fatalities over the past five years. In Milwaukee, several incidents have involved people plowing into police squad cars without stopping. Cities like Chicago and Washington, DC tried to address the issue by installing red-light cameras and sending people tickets for violations without a police officer needing to be present. (Those efforts have been stymied, however, as critics have pointed out the majority of the tickets are going to “drivers of color” and are therefore intrinsically racist.)
One factor that should be considered here in Wisconsin is that during, and now after the pandemic, the DMV has cut back on the requirements to get a drivers license. For several years, those over the age of 18 have only had to pass the multiple-choice written exam to be granted a license–no road test with a DMV worker riding along is required anymore. And last year, that waiver (with parental consent) was extended to those ages 16 and 17 as well–who have completed a certified drivers education program.
I remember the Department of Transportation press release announcing that change mentioning the phrase “parents have a vested interest in making sure their teens are safely prepared to start driving”. Well, data seems to contradict that. In the five years leading up to last year’s change in requirements, Wisconsin saw a 15% increase in traffic fatalities involving people ages 16 to 24. And given today’s coddling of youth, what parent is going to expose their “fragile” child to the possibility of failing a driving test–possibly multiple times?
Yesterday’s incidents remind me of what we used to call a “Pollok joke”. A Polish guy is driving his buddy in his pickup truck when they come to an intersection with a red light. The Polish guy drives right through it, and his buddy yells out “That was a red light!!” and the Polish guy says “It’s okay, my brother drives through red lights all the time and he never gets into accidents”. A little while later, the truck goes through another red light, and the passenger yells “That was another red light!” and the Polish guy says “I told you, my brother does it all the time!” A few blocks later they come up to a green light and the Polish guy slams on the brakes. The passenger says “It’s a green light, you can go this time!” and the Polish guy says “I know. But my brother might be coming from the other way!”
From what I see now, that becomes less of a joke and more of a warning every day.
