The accident on L Street that took the life of a beautiful child and critically injured another was just that – an accident. There are no reports it was caused by speed or impaired driving. It’s a tragedy that will hopefully never be repeated, but the odds of that are not too good and we probably all know it.
Adding updated speed limited lights, stop signs and barriers are all good steps, but if we are going to see a future with less traffic accidents on the ‘thru ways’ of South Boston, there needs to be an attitude change as far as driving habits go on the part of local residents and certainly by out of town commuters.
To the locals: Whether you are long timers or newcomers this is your town. Those who reside here are our neighbors and we need to look out for them. Though most locals have a healthy and legitimate respect for traffic rules, there are a few who will blow through a stop sign or a red light, if they think there are no cops watching. Please, no more. And start using those turn signals (AKA Blinkas).
The out of town commuters are for the most part good and safe drivers, when coming and going during the rush hours. But some of them are as reckless and disrespectful as they can be and could not seem to care that using our streets as their personal speedways is dangerous. They run late for work. So, what. If they can’t drive under control and in a safe manner, they should take an alternate route that does not take them through our town.
Commuters caught speeding through our streets, as well as locals who do the same should be hit with heavy fines and loss of license. And enforcement is a key. If public officials are not willing to go that extra mile and hit hard with those tougher penalties, perhaps they are not as serious as they want us to believe about preventing future accidents. All the new lights, signs and barriers won’t be enough to ensure there will not be another child killed in the not too distant future.
