We have been living in Los Angeles for three weeks now and are loving it. Many told us about the traffic and how awful it is when we talked about moving here. They of course are correct. Yet for the most part the traffic flows, perhaps not as fast as we wish, but it flows. One plans around it and I have found it important to not be in a hurry.
All of this being said, there are always plenty of news stories about people killed in auto accidents.
The other night is was a young woman killed by a hit and run driver. The next day it was an accident in central LA.
A few minutes of driving in LA and one can see how accidents happen. My focus has gone way up since moving here. Folks change four lanes in two seconds, many times with no signal. In a city notorious for traffic, many are still in a hurry to get somewhere.
The bummer is that although deaths are newsworthy for a day, it seems like they are an accepted fact of living here.
Perhaps most feel they will always be OK, that crazy driving won't affect them. The father of the young woman killed by a hit and run driver said this, that "you never think this will happen to you".
Yet it does.
One by one we are being picked off because of carelessness, ignorance, arrogance and basically folks just being in a rush. The news stories don't even affect us anymore. Perhaps people are to the point where this is just how it is.
I don't believe that is how it has to be.
Perhaps it is stricter laws. Perhaps it's calling out the reckless drivers. Perhaps it's simply just asking people to give a shit.
Today another family will get a call or a visit. They will be crushed with the news.
Thanks for reading.
Sad. But true. Interesting to hear it from an "outsiside" point of view. I hate the traffic. It drives me bobkers. Sometimes takes me 2 hours to drive 40 miles to work. I hope more people become more mindful and less desensitized. I truly believe the mundane task of sitting in traffic leads to folks texting, reading, watching movies, putting on make-up (ashamed to say I'm guilty of all of those things!) shoot, I've even seen people shaving, to simply pass the time while commuting.
ReplyDeleteSad. But true. Interesting to hear it from an "outsiside" point of view. I hate the traffic. It drives me bobkers. Sometimes takes me 2 hours to drive 40 miles to work. I hope more people become more mindful and less desensitized. I truly believe the mundane task of sitting in traffic leads to folks texting, reading, watching movies, putting on make-up (ashamed to say I'm guilty of all of those things!) shoot, I've even seen people shaving, to simply pass the time while commuting.
ReplyDelete