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" one thing I will have to say - people really don't pay attention when driving. I am sure we are all at fault for doing that at some time... but yesterday there were many of the lights out due to the storm. When lights are out, all sides were coming to a complete stop. I was on Mercer and Veterans - all cars on Veterans came to a stop and the cars on Mercer where about to cross when a car went around two lanes and never even hestitated before flying right through the intersection. I saw that happen at two other lights as well. Everyone needs to pay closer attention to driving and remember what a responsibility it is to be behind the wheel and the life it can't take if we aren't careful. "

" Earlier Sunday around 10 - 11 AM all traffic lights at the intersection were flashing red. As I sat in line waiting my turn I saw someone drive right through the intersection without stopping and almost hit someone. Then when it was my turn some guy in a truck came barreling through the light without stopping and almost hit me. I guess some people don't know what flashing red means. I was afraid there would be an accident since I was only there for less than 5 minutes and witnessed two near misses. "

" Safetygoober; make sure you carry a sign saying "Safetygoober" on your car so I can make a panicked turn out of your way if I see your sorry driving skills on the road.....I drive the speed limit and I will NOT drive in the right lane if I need to make a left handed turn! In other words, if I am driving AT the speed limit, I should NOT have to pay the price for you driving 15-20 miles OVER the limit. If you hit ME it is YOUR fault!!!! I see a lot more craziness and unsafe driving from those who are late than those who smoothly go up to the 45 mph speed limit. YOU are the reason you are late for (fill-in-the-blank) NOT anyone else! "

" So before you post rants and "what happened" ideas here next time, STOP and think of all the possabilities. Do not automatically assume anything and when you want SOMEONE to blame walk in front of a mirror and blame the one you see there.

CAUSE IF YOUR NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!

PART 8 "

" Now think about this here is a 22 year old with only six (max) years of driving experience who was brought up in the age of I-Pods, walk-mans, cell phones and cars that just about do everything for you--- whereas most of us here learned to drive a stick vehicle and wer amazed the first time we ever got into one with an automatic ransmission! (I will hazard a guess and say one or two might have fueled thier first vehicle with Hay and hitched it to the post in front of the general store by the comments they posted!) Add to all this LAX law enforcement and a NOT my fault attitude and we have a pure recipe for disaster!

PART 7 "

" Let's go back to mandatory testing of ALL vehicles, and of course be required to pay a hefty fee to the state, every year to ensure all vehicles being operated are FULLY and COMPLETELY roadworthy! Make EVERYONE renew thier DL every two years and complete the full gammit of written, vision and road testing. (This would weed out a whole lot of people from driving very quickly!) And lest we forget, let's ban all cell phones, pagers, navigation units, eating, drinking, reading, talking to passengers, etc. from all vehicles in Illinois. (Bound to make the roads safer!

PART 6 "

" Distracted driving. BIG issue which could be solved by the automakers very quickly if/when they removed every bell, whistle, light, drivers aid and stereo from ever car made. (Hey, that would lighten them up and also increase the MPG!) But let's not stop there- How about only giving drivers exams in ENGLISH in this state! Lets ENFORCE the many, many regulations/laws already on the books. Let's look at every car model and MANDATE people stand a certian height so they can safely see and operate their vehicles. (Ever seen the top of a "Q-Tip" and eight fingers gripping a wheel as you drive by that 1978 Chrysler Bromme? How safe is that!)

PART 5 "

" Get your slow driving butt over to the right lane which is designed for that purpose. When you get stuck behind that slow moving semi use the FUNNY BLINKING light which has a stick to activate on the left of the steering column and of course accelerate to match all the speed of the vehicles in the PASSING LANE you like cutting off. HEY, if you do not like me speeding just think about me as you drive by me on the side of the road signing my name and getting ready to give the government and my insurance company a larger portin of my earnings! Your not hurt and it's my money going to pay your Sociial Security or Welfare when I pay that fine!

PART 4 "

" Over and over accidents are caused by those who feel they can drive below the speed limit, stop on yellows, "lock-up" the brakes so they don't miss thier turn and yes, SPEEDING. Easy solution, if you want to drive SLOWER than the posted speed limit move over to the right and STAY THERE! (Do me a favor and put a SLOW Vehicle emblem on the back of your car too so I can hopefully avoid you!) If you miss the turn you need/want the right solution is to take the next turn and LEGALLY double back. SPEEDING- If someone want to drive FAST let them! Do not get in front of me and lock up your brakes cause I will hit you.

PART 3 "

" in response to "normal resident", you have no right to assume that any of the statements that you wrote about the driver are true, you weren't in the vehicle and you have no idea what actually happened. maybe instead of making judgements, you should take into account what else could have been happening at that time. and i'm sure that you have never eaten or drank anything while you were driving and i'm sure that you are always going the speed limit and make complete stops at stop signs and have never in your life ran a red light. take into account what you have done in your driving history before you pass judgement onto other people. "

" Was the light properly working at the time of the incident or not? (I will point out the road construction project on Towanda-Barnes ALMOST directly across from the IDOT facility which Unsafely and ILLEGALLY has a speed limit change within the construction zone and without any of the REQUIRED MANDATORY warning signs before the speed decrease! (Poor maintenance and ineffective regulatory oversight go hand in hand and if the people assigned to repair/maintain traffic signals don't see/fix something they drive trough every day then how do we know this light was properly maintained/functioning?)

PART 2 "

" SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT--- Most of you automatically ASSUME that the young lady was doing something wrong. One person points out the lights may not have been functioning. Several clowns (who are probably the cause for speeders) state people are driving to fast/dangerous/inattentive. So which is it.

Lets see... The sun was setting at the time. Did the glare of the sun "wash out" the color of the signal. (None of us have ever seen this hapen have we? Yeah, right!)

PART 1 "

" Hootie: I agree the way people drive on Veteran's is terrible, and the speed limit is frequently not honored - instead there are people who drive 15 mph UNDER the speed limit, which can drastically effect the flow of traffic so that even the people that are driving the speed limit are imposed upon, and of course you have those in a hurry that have to do split-second lane changes to accommodate the slow moving vehicle(s). I agree that there are those that tend to drive over the speed limit, but I think everybody is guilty of doing that at least once in their lives - everyone has days when they are running behind. However, those that refuse to drive as fast as the speed limit - I don't mean a petty couple miles per hour, I'm talking 10-15mph slower - on a fast-paced roadway like Veteran's Parkway also contributes to making Veteran's Parkway unsafe at times. It's probably safer to avoid Veteran's at 'rush hour' altogether. "

" The real problem is that nobody looks past the end of their hood. And to the people that slam on your brakes right when it turns yellow, take a look in your mirror first and see what is behind you. You can go through a yellow light as long it's still yellow when you get to the other side. Want to see horrible drivers? Come to the Tampa St. Petersburg Florida area. "

" Top 10 Reasons why she "didn't see her light was red":

10. She was putting on make-up
09. She was scrolling through her iPod.
08. She was eating something
07. She was drinking something
06. She was reading a note.
05. She was changing her outfit.
04. She was adjusting the air conditioner
03. She was adjusting the review mirror
02. She was talking on her cell phone
01. She was doing all of the above. "

" I've noticed a lot of people running yellow lights, actually speeding up racing through the yellow and then the red. So far I've seen two accidents caused by this. When the light is yellow STOP. "

" To Hootie: 55 or 60 on Veteran's Parkway? I don't think so. I'm lucky to get up to 40 before either getting caught in traffic or having the out of sync lights hold me up. Most days, traffic runs at about 35, unless of course it's rush hour, which you're looking at 30 tops. "

" I follow my Dad's advice, assume everyone is an idiot trying to kill you. That has held absolutely held true. "

" I went through that very intersection at 5:00 p.m. and the lights were working fine. In my opinion, it's not an issue of whether the lights were operating correctly...but people paying attention to other vehicles. Remember your Driver's Ed teacher preaching about "defensive driving"? People don't pay attention to what other people are doing...most accidents could be avoided entirely if people were more concerned with what's happening on the road instead of talking on their cell phones, while their kids are watching DVD's, and the Garmin is blabbing on in the background... "

" Hopefully the traffic lights at that intersection had been fixed because they were not working earlier in the day. It should not take someone's life to be jeopardized before the city realizes the traffic situation on Veteran's is unsafe. Motorists are driving like crazy people! The speed limit is never honored and most drive at least 55 or 60 even when on their cellphones. What si going to take to get the police officers out there patrolling the speedway? But then I have seen the police driving just as fast and not in pursuit either. Perhaps the name should be changed from Veteran's Parkway to the Indy 500. Hope nobody was critically injured from this accident. "

" The running of red lights in this town is out of control. "