“Those Old Stop Signs”
We all know some of them. That old, faded, leaning stop sign at an intersection we may pass through literally hundreds of times a year perhaps even with weeds and brush possibly adding to the problem of seeing it. It might be on a road that sees fewer than ten cars a day and some of those might be the same one several times. It might even be a shiny new one.
One thing that having enforced traffic laws for 21 years I have seen is eventually that old stop sign witnesses a serious accident at some point. It often is the same person who has ran it hundreds if not thousands of times. This day there just happened to be some one else they didn’t coming and a tragic event occurs.
Perhaps all of us have neglected or ignored what that old stop sign says to us which is as simple as it gets. “STOP” !!!! Not slow down, not punch it, not expect it is like hundreds of other times and no one is coming. We are all in a hurry these days and many of us think a few seconds to obey our old friend who is there to protect us will keep fruitful work from occuring if we “STOP” !!!! I capitalize it and put it in bold because that is what it is meant to say. Perhaps exclamation points would help on the signs too.
I have came to realize writing such as this annoy some who might think “It won’t happen to me”. Trouble is that no one would ever leave their home if they knew they would be in an accident that day.
I have a personal story to tell about running stop signs. I have touched on it before but I don’t think in detail.
It was a privilege to be allowed to transfer to Cimarron County by choice in October, 2005. I learned the transfer would happen in July that year but on August 26th in Poteau, Oklahoma while waiting on my move date of October 1st I was driving through an intersection in a quiet residential area much like any on the back streets of Boise CIty, Keyes or Felt. One of my partners, a female trooper with whom I graduated OHP Academy with in 1997 was riding with me while her car was serviced and at about 2:00 PM on a Friday afternoon a very kind young lady, mother of two small children driving a Ford F-250 ran a stop sign at about 25 mph and hit us in the passenger side just behind the front door. Fortunately, the 2004 Ford Crown Vic I was driving has (as all similar vehicles) a low center of gravity and did not roll. The impact resulted in several thousand dollars damage to the patrol unit and injuries to my partner which kept her off work for several months and she returned only after two back surgeries. I missed a few days too but fortunately my seat belt and the safety features of the car kept me from serious injury.
The point of this story is that the driver who ran the stop sign meant us no harm and according to her had passed through the intersection all of her life so perhaps thousands of times. Problem was that sunny day we were in the way.
In summary we must all remember STOP means STOP!!! Plain and simple. It won’t make any difference in your days work. A tragedy can change your life and that of others forever.
Please don’t run stop signs…………….
