Discussions

A thread below makes reference to a serious problem in Brandon - the aggressive driving habits of much of our population.  
 
For what it's worth, I'm a frequent driver, seldon pedestrian.  
 
Worse and worse it gets. No courtesy, no common sense, no sensibility. It's ugly out there.  
 
Red lights are considered as yield signs when making a right turn.  
 
Stop signs are treated as yield signs whether the turn is right or left - or even if there's no intention to turn at all.  
 
Yellow lights are presumed to warn all ofthe other traffic that you're "coming through". At an accelerated speed, of course, hoping to clear the intersection before the red.  
 
I've seen 4 cars go through an intersection on a red, following a first car that entered on a yellow. 26th and Richmond.  
 
Residential streets aren't likely to have speed restrictions enforced and so become an opportunity to burn out some of that carbon. Is racing across those 2 blocks by the playground really justified by the 3 seconds in time saved?  
 
Of course, it's not the time saved that's important, it's merely juvenile ego being displayed  
 
Or to put it another way, the 20/30 something guys/gals in the little sporty cars turning onto Neepawa drive every day aren't trying to save time when they mat it out for 2 blocks - they're just figuratively excorcising the carbon from their brains. I'm sure it makes them feel good. But why don't you try sky diving or yoga instead - rather than inflicting your neuroses on your neighbors?  
 
Good grief, people drive the streets of Brandon as if their own 30 seconds are more important that anyone else's: as if it's a personal affront to be behind someone: as if all of the streets of Brandon, residential, collector and commercial, were the Deerfoot Trail.  
 
Well, there's no Deerfoot Trail in Brandon.  
 
It still takes only 10 minutes to get from somewhere to anywhere in Brandon. 15 minutes at worst of times.  
 
Some drivers in this forum complain about the lack of co-ordinated signal lights !!!! In Brandon ? Seriously ? That's humorous enough to be used as a line in a stand-up comedian's routine.  
 
A friend was struck by a vehicle this morning at the corner of 26th Street and Parkdale Drive while crossing Parkdale at the pedestrian/bicycle walkway. I don't know the details, but this is worrysome following yesterdays fatality.  
 
Just wait until the streets get icy and slippery.  
 
Brandon Police would be advised that, in the short term at least, concentrating on aggressive driving infractions, as opposed to check stops, might be more in the public interest.  
 
Now don't get me going on the etiquette of highway driving.