In a couple of months I will be celebrating a very interesting 48th anniversary. It was a crisp and sunny November day, in 1964, that I passed the only driving test I was ever required to take. I was in my last year of high school, and from that moment on, I have been legal to operate heavy machinery.
It’s because of that realization, and perhaps because of my recent move back to a community of more than 700,000 people that I am more aware of my abilities behind the wheel.
The weather is still summer, so there are tons of bicycles on the road, and there are many of those big yellow school buses. A little over a year ago I actually gave serious thought to becoming a school bus driver, but I thought better of it. It’s a truly awesome responsibility, and I have great admiration for the men and women who transport our future, to and from the classroom.
Outside the cities, the ride on that bus can take more than an hour each way as the little red schoolhouses are just a distant memory. Sooner than any of us would like, the city streets and country roads will include snow and ice, not to mention fog patches and blowing snow. It’s a miracle how few school days we actually lose to weather and road problems on the prairies.
Winnipeg is considering reducing the speed limit on residential streets from 50 kph to 40 K. Other cities in both Canada and the U.S. have already made such a move, and it may just be an idea whose time has come.
Driving a personal vehicle gives us an incredible sense of freedom, but far too many of us take that freedom for granted. Way more than was the case 48 years ago, I drive very defensively when I get behind the wheel.
I’m Roger Currie
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