Don’t live life in the fast lane

We all have so many places to go, and there always seems to be plenty

in the way before we get there. So it’s no surprise when people fly

down Coast Highway on their way in and out of town in an effort to

get ahead, or beat the traffic, or whatever advantage speeding gives

to drivers.

It’s seems comforting to tell yourself it’s only the tourists and

passers-through who ignore the speed limits, but that’s only hopeful

speculation. It’s just so hard to believe that people who know the

roads wouldn’t adhere to the limits. We know that there’s a good

reason for the seemingly low speed limit on such a wide road as North

Coast Highway.

For one, people are trying to get out of Emerald Bay. They sit and

wait and wait and wait; and occasionally, they get frustrated and

just go. We’ve all seen it, and most of us hold our breath for just a

second as the car passing hits the breaks or swerves a little to the

side.

So when those passing cars are traveling at 65 mph instead of 40

(a generous hypothesis), not only can it catch the exiting driver by

surprise, it can frustrate the driver into just pulling out in

desperation. It can also lead to a tragic accident.

Of course, when those tragic accidents occur, it’s nearly

impossible to blame those involved. The tribute to the oh-so-young

Aron Negron that hangs at the entrance to Emerald Bay hardly brings

up any anger toward the 19-year-old motorcyclist or the woman who

collided with him last week. It’s a nasty consequence of that part of

the road.

We can’t make the roads safe, but we can make it a bit easier to

navigate if we slow down. The slower speeds might give people trying

to pull out of the side streets the ability to turn in a timely

manner and alleviate some of the frustrated turns or turns made under

the illusion that oncoming traffic is traveling at the speed limit.

Speeding is becoming less of a problem on Laguna Canyon Road as

the traffic keeps increasing, but it still pops up in the wee hours

of the morning, not to mention the heart-stopping passing that goes

on.

We can’t stop everyone from driving carelessly, but let’s take

pride in our knowledge of the area when we slow to the speed limit

and the guy behind us gets obviously perturbed. We know the reality

of those roads, and we don’t have to be pressured into being a

hazard.