Stop the highway driving frenzy

Monday was the first day of summer, but the valley began to build toward its annual summer frenzy about two weeks ago.

The frenzy is evident on the highway where drivers are going crazy and seem to be engaging in life-threatening behavior day after day, hour after hour.

The frenzy on the highway has produced a spate of serious traffic accidents and sent victims to the hospital. If residents and visitors are to survive the summer, something has got to give.

The level of poor driving—tailgating, speeding, passing in no-passing lanes, passing with too little room to spare—may be at an all time high—and July isn’t even here yet. Drivers who merely see cars and trucks ahead of them seem to become angry and irate just because they are there and taking up space. Drivers respond by putting the pedal to the metal—just ask anyone who’s been right-laned at the Elkhorn stoplight.

It’s time to remember the valley is small—that’s why we all moved here, right?

It’s time to remember that wherever someone is in the valley, he or she is not a long way from anywhere else. The trip from Hailey to Ketchum is a quick 20-25 minutes in the summer, even during the evening rush hour. Passing cars going the speed limit makes little sense. Harassing them by tailgating makes less.

The funny thing is that a driver who passes usually ends up at his or her destination at exactly the same time as the driver left behind—so what’s the point?

It’s time to remember that the valley has been renowned for being a friendly place. If we’re not careful, the valley’s reputation could change to something like that of brutish Boston drivers—heaven forbid.

It’s time to remember that the people in all those other cars on the highway are friends, neighbors, or customers. Becoming a road boor in order to make up five minutes on the road will never be worth their lives or the life-long curse of remorse that is the fate of the reckless driver.

As more and more visitors pile into the valley for the summer, residents will have to exercise patience with those uninitiated in the quirks of driving State Highway 75. The Idaho State Police and the Blaine County Sheriff’s patrol should also exercise their writing skills and deliver a lot more tickets to those who will not give up boorish and dangerous driving habits.

It’s time for drivers to relax. Look at the beautiful scenery. Smile. Gesture with a wave, not an index finger. Let others merge; let pedestrians cross. Leave the road rage to the rest of the country.