My father, who was a highway safety engineer, used to talk with me often about drivers and highway safety. He told me that the two terms really don’t belong together anymore. That is even more on target today. I saw my life pass before my eyes the other day as a driver drove rapidly through a red light. As a result, the extent of the potential tragedy facing us from this selfish and careless action frighteningly came to mind. Soon after this event, I was stopped at another red light less than a quarter mile away, and a different car drove by me on the right, racing through the red light. Do traffic laws not mean anything anymore? Do we care so little about each other that common courtesies are no longer important? Have we become so self-centered that we have the right to ignore laws designed to protect the common good? Are we colorblind? Do we think yellow means speed up, make it through the intersection before it turns green again?

Looking back at our discussions, the potential for a serious accident increases dramatically with increased speed, which is always part of this scenario. Unfortunately, the potential for serious injury from not stopping and hitting an unexpecting motorist or, God forbid, pedestrian, is substantial. The later you go through a red light, the more likely you are to cause a serious accident or death. I wish that I had specific statistics. Can you imagine living the rest of your life living with this because you chose not to stop on red? How would you react if this happened to someone in your family? I urge you to think about it.

I am convinced that the only action that will have an impact on this growing menace is tough laws and mandatory incarceration. Going through a red light to me has the same potential outcome as attempted homicide if you are lucky and actual homicide if you are not. When you also consider our inclination to move as soon as a light turns green, the combination with not stopping on red can be deadly. It is time to implement a law in Maine to have cameras at stop lights and automatically send out tickets for violators. An automatic fine of $400 or more and automatic license suspension would have an immediate impact on our safety. The money from tickets would be more than enough to pay for the technology. If we knew that even being stopped for going through a red light meant a high fine and/or ideally prison after two infractions, things would change quickly. Especially after we saw articles and pictures in the paper and online disgracing those found guilty (another requirement that should be mandatory). What a shame to have to resort to these measures because of a privileged few who frankly just don’t care about the rest of us. It is time to wake up and smell the coffee for the benefit of everyone.

Glenn Michaels is a Brunswick resident.

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