Published Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Sound traffic advice -- be patient and give yourself plenty of time

Editorial

When you got out on the road this morning, did you notice things were different?

There was an increase in traffic. Some roads were more congested. More young drivers were on the road. Did you notice the school buses? Did you see more law enforcement officers?

Things were different on many of our roadways today because it was the first day of the new school year for public schools in Coweta County.

The first day of classes always brings out a heavy volume of traffic around our schools, and our local law enforcement officials always step up patrols around schools to help make for a safe start to the new year.

Safety officials say they will continue to beef up patrols around schools and get everyone readjusted to school-day traffic.

Sheriff Mike Yeager warned everyone, "There's going to be an increase in traffic -- be patient and give yourself plenty of time."

That's good advice for all of us. Whether we are in school traffic or in congested traffic caused by the many road construction projects in our community, we must be patient when driving and give ourselves plenty of time to get to our destinations.

That sounds simple, but it is so important. If you spend much time in traffic, you will encounter impatient and irate motorists. They do nothing but worsen the situation and often make conditions less safe.

The same can be said for motorists who don't give themselves enough time to get to work, or school, or wherever they are going. People who leave late and rush to make up time usually violate the laws by speeding and driving too reckless. They are much more likely to contribute to an accident.

Let's all take the sheriff's advice -- be patient and give yourself plenty of time to arrive safely. And equally important -- slow down and obey the speed limits.