The selfish, poor driving habits have to stop

The timing of this column, which I have been thinking about for a few weeks now, couldn’t be better as we’ve all seen multiple cars, trucks and transports in the ditch recently.

Oh, I know, let’s blame the snow rather than the poor driving skills and inability (or perhaps it’s a selfish unwillingness) to adjust to the weather rather than think Mother Nature will adjust to you.

I’ve been driving in two heavy snowfalls and snow-covered roads recently and (so far) I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by intelligent, knowledgeable operators in vehicles of all shapes and sizes.

I go up and down the highway – both 11 and the 400 – frequently and the least annoying drive was on my way home from Vaughan on Thursday night (November 28).

It was the first time in years that I was on the roads and didn’t see people on their phones, self important lane changing with no regards for others, or other nonsensical decisions such as driving in the passing lane without actually passing anyone.

The crazy part about all this is that the stupid drivers on the road were causing accidents and fatalities well before the snow started to accumulate. One time this summer I saw a driver take themselves right into a ditch between the north and southbound lanes on Highway 11.

Literally, they just slid on over on a warm, dry summer’s day. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

A report by the OPP in October showed that there has been 40 per cent more fatal collisions in 2024 due to distracted driving than last year during the same time period. Based on the eye test, the end of year number should far exceed that.

Through early October, the provincial police organization recorded 296 fatal crashes with 63 people killed in collisions caused by not paying attention – or perhaps not paying attention to the right thing at the right time.

In Toronto, there have been 42 fatalities due to a variety of collision types so far in 2024, more than all of last year (though still slightly down from the 49 in 2022 and 53 in 2021, but don’t worry ignoramuses, there is still time to pass those marks).

While it’s certain that many of these were phone related, there were likely other distractions too.

Some people like to eat whole meals in a car and not have their hands on the wheel. We’ve all munched on a one-handed treat or sipped a drink, but always keeping eyes on the road and a hand on the wheel.

Meanwhile, others have their heads so far up their own asses, they have no clue what’s going on around them.

Three times in the past two weeks the following situation has happened. My daughter and I are driving to her soccer practice at a reasonable speed on either Highway 11 or the 400.

We’re in the passing lane to pass a couple of slower-moving vehicles. One of the slow-moving vehicles suddenly decides they want to pass and without looking jumps into my lane at highway speeds.