Editor, the News;
First of all, about the story on the front page of the Dec. 13, 2011, I wonder if anyone proof reads the articles before they get printed and read by the public? This particular article is full of grammar errors and words used that don’t belong.

The story from the same issue on page 4 “What will it take to get the message across?”, totally missed the issue at stake. People. It was terribly foggy that morning. I agree that there are still way too many drivers driving faster in poor conditions than they should, however, in this case the fog was so thick that you couldn’t see past the hood of your vehicle.
Even at a very low speed, it would have been very hard to see anything at all in front of you. Having been a truck driver myself, the public needs to understand that trucks of this size can’t stop on a dime and that in these conditions the drivers put their own lives in danger, as well as others, so they can deliver their goods on time to the end user, but in the article it was suggested that these people should have used better judgement and have stayed off the roads, like these guys are on their Sunday drive having no need to be there with their loaded trucks.
That would be like saying: “What were the emergency crew thinking? Did they not know that it was foggy and slippery? When the call came in to the fire hall, they should have told the people at the accident scene that they couldn’t come out and do their job due to risky driving conditions. Get the point? We all have jobs to do no matter what the conditions.
The picture shows quite a few big trucks that were involved. Really? No kidding. What a surprise. Loaded trucks in these conditions could create a mess like this driving at only a few kilometers per hour. These accidents have nothing to do with human error, it has everything to do with Mother Nature throwing a thick blanket of fog and icy roads on us that morning.
What an unjust article to write about drivers instead of writing about the weather conditions at that time. Brings me to think about the man killed at Kipp who was struck by a big rig. Mother Nature or driver error, speeding or driving with undue care and attention? We all know what was to blame.? We need to start calling these accidents for what they are, they are just that … accidents.
Stiffer penalties need to be handed out to people who run stop or yield signs and cause collisions. These are human error or lack of responsibility and consideration for others, causing accidents.
Let’s call these what they really are. In case of a death....vehicular homicide. In case of injury....assault with a deadly weapon. We need to realize that our vehicles can become deadly weapons. We, as drivers, need to be more patient, more considerate of other drivers and pedestrians that we share roads with.
Driving is a privilege and comes with a lot of responsibility. We remember to put our driver’s licenses in our wallets when we step into our vehicles, so next time, people, put a healthy dose of responsibility and common sense in your wallets as well, next time you take to the road.
Alex Van Braak
COALHURST