Baton Rouge, let’s have a chat. This has been a long time coming. Now, I know you are the jewel of the state in a post-Katrina Louisiana, that your economy is booming like never before and that you are home to the state’s flagship university, which is fantastic. It is marvelous, really. However, you are home to quite possibly the worst drivers in the entirety of the United States.
Now, I am not talking about genuine accidents, where forces beyond our control, like overly slick roads or a patch of ice, lands your car in a ditch. I am talking about the asinine, avoidable wrecks brought about by pure human error. Things like texting and driving, running a red light, failing to yield and the like all lead to needless accidents, injuries and often fatalities.
The day of the Spanish Town parade comes to mind. As I was driving past the Governor’s Mansion near the Laurel Street exit, traffic was at a virtual standstill. As the mass of cars rolled forward, a gap appeared between a small sedan and a Ram pickup truck. Out of nowhere, the sedan floored it and plowed into the back of the Ram, damaging itself and leaving the truck unscathed.
In about three seconds and thirty feet of space, someone managed to damage their car and bring an entire lane of traffic to a grinding halt.
Seriously, as I am writing this, there are reported to have been three accidents since 9 a.m., one of which was a hit-and-run. I am not sure if it is the weather, the excitement over baseball season or if people are still hung over from Mardi Gras, but driving around Baton Rouge is like watching a horror movie in real life, and the killer is sitting behind the wheel of a Honda Civic.
Also, just yesterday, as I was driving home from taking a midterm, I passed by the School of the Coast and Environment to see scores of police and cars surrounding what appeared to be an auto accident. What was strange about this particular wreck was that it was a lone SUV in the middle of Nicholson Extension, flipped completely upside down. My first and only thought was “How in the world did you do that?”
As it turns out, a car failing to yield was hit on the driver’s side as it was pulling out onto Nicholson Extension, and the SUV rolled completely over after the impact. Thankfully, none of the occupants were hurt, but at the same time, it must be said that it appears to have been completely avoidable. I am still wondering how the SUV managed to flip.
If drivers were to merely pay more attention to what they are doing and to what is happening around them, there would most assuredly be a marked decline in wrecks in Baton Rouge. Even if it’s not across the board, a mild increase in situational awareness on the part of some drivers can render the wild driving of other Baton Rouge residents moot.
If you have ever gotten a ticket for texting and driving or having your seat belt unfastened, it’s for very good reason; it’s incredibly stupid and irresponsible. The same goes for drinking and driving, which is about the ultimate expression of willingness to have oneself removed from the gene pool à la natural selection.
Baton Rouge traffic is a monster all on its own. Genuine accidents aside, there is no need for us to make it worse by blindly ramming into each other like freshmen on their first outing to Mike’s.
Ryan McGehee is a 21-year-old political science, history and international studies senior from Zachary, La.