Well, Shawville Fair weekend is upon us, and with it comes an explosion in the amount of people milling around the community.
Each year, the parking spaces around town fill up with the increased volume. More cars in town mean more cars on the road into town.
This could be cause for concern.
Even during the lower volume times of year, it seems like there is an accident on Hwy. 148 almost on a weekly basis.
Introduce an extra few thousand people each day traversing the main artery in the Pontiac, and the chances for accidents grow.
Highway 148 is in bad shape at several points through the Pontiac. Some stretches through the Municipality of Pontiac are so bad that a police cruiser hydroplaned right off the roadway during a rainstorm earlier this summer.
The Eardley section is so bad that road crews have had to dig right down to the soil in order to resurface the road.
Even when there aren’t thousands of extra cars on the road, it’s not like people take an extreme amount of care while driving on the highway.
I rarely, if ever, drive more than 20 km/h over the speed limit. Part of it is a fear of having to pay more for a speeding ticket, but it also comes down to safety.
Roads with a speed limit of 90 km/h are designed for that speed. Not 120 km/h and up.
But this doesn’t seem to faze many drivers. I can’t count the number of times that a driver has flown past me like I was at a standstill even though I’m going 105 km/h in a 90 km/h zone.
Many people feel comfortable on the highway because they drive it so often. You might know the curves and intricacies of the road, but that won’t matter when a driver coming towards you loses focus or falls asleep and veers into your lane.
At least if you’re moving slower, you give yourself a chance to take an evasive maneuver.
Police officers were out in full force last week on Hwy. 148 where they handed out 10 speeding infractions and impounded two vehicles.
One of them was caught going 145 km/h in a 90 km/h zone. The driver’s licence was suspended for seven days, the vehicle was impounded and the driver got a $530 fine and lost 10 demerit points.
This is unacceptable. Especially in an agricultural community where a slow-moving vehicle could be lurking around any corner or hump in the road.
And let’s be honest, with an increased amount of people coming to the fair, some will choose to indulge in alcoholic beverages.
There is nothing wrong with having a few cold ones with friends at one of the biggest social events of the year. But, be responsible when and if you do choose to drink.
You may feel comfortable on the roads around the Pontiac, but the few thousand people who aren’t from here don’t have that same comfort level.
So, keep this in mind as you get behind the wheel this weekend.
And, whatever you do, don’t drink and drive.
Chris Lowrey
