Learning To Rules Of The Road

To the Editor:

I just returned from the fourth driving lesson with my daughter and felt the need to address a situation that speaks poorly of our town. While driving at the speed limit on the dangerous, twisty, turning back roads of Newtown, we were constantly tailgated, honked at, and passed in no passing zones and near curves, at which point I was left to explain to the young lady earning her driving wings that she should ignore the rude and law-breaking drivers and focus on the task at hand and the road ahead. I explained that although it was 1:30 Sunday afternoon that some folks were in such a hurry that they forgot what it was like the first few times they were behind the wheel. Sunday afternoon for gosh sakes. In addition, I had to explain that following the rules of the road and the laws of our state were important not only when starting out, but forever, as a driver in a busy town. The only thing missing was a one handed salute and a barrage of obscenities.

We’ll be back on the road with increasing regularity in the next months, so please, impatient Newtowners, cut us some slack. Learning to be a safe driver, a courteous driver, and a compassionate driver is hard enough without constant examples of just the opposite. New England roads can eat the best of drivers alive in an instant of lost concentration, so the next time you get behind someone who is obviously a beginner, think back to your first bout with a multiton, motorized projectile, and let her see that everyone else wants to be safe and secure on the streets of Newtown.

                                             Thank you,

                                             Jim Roodhuyzen

60 Schoolhouse Hill Road, Sandy Hook                 January 29, 2007