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January 20, 2006
Driven crazy by crazy drivers in Pahrump
In fact, I would like government to be almost invisible rather than be the muscle-flexing, attention-grabbing, money-sucking, headline-dominating, colossal, meddlesome jackass that it is, and that includes the law - specifically enforcement thereof. Don't get me wrong. I've nothing but the highest respect for law and order. I especially like that one with Vincent D'Onofrio, "Law & Order Criminal Intent." That guy is one mesmerizing actor. But criminal intent is not limited to murderers. There are degrees of crime. We have the robbers, the burglars, the killers, rapists and meth manufacturers. On a much less malevolent level we have our habitual traffic offenders and they are wreaking havoc, unchecked and unbalanced. I've always wanted the police to put an emphasis on catching the truly bad people, the evildoers as President Bush might say. And they do, leaving alone bad drivers thanks to chronic understaffing at the Nye County Sheriff's Office and the Nevada Highway Patrol. All of the sudden, after years of valley drivers extending small town courtesies, it's "Lord of the Flies" on the roads of Pahrump and the highway that links us to Vegas. Like most drivers, I get a little nervous when I see the government behind me in the form of a Nye County deputy, even when I'm going the speed limit and my vehicle and my person are completely free of probable cause. But the other day I looked in my you-can't-have-it-both-ways drawer and found a reason to want the government to flex some muscle. Grab a little attention. Meddle some. Driving habits in the valley have changed dramatically over the past few years, for the worse, and we have become, behind the wheel at least, a miniature version of the big city rat race from which we fled - and what we claim to despise. We drive like bats out of hell. We have zero respect for the posted speed limit and we force less aggressive drivers to go faster than they want. Seventy miles per hour is for suckers. And we kill and we die all in the name of getting somewhere five minutes sooner. Studies have indicated that people's personalities change when they climb behind the wheel. Someone who is normally polite and easygoing becomes a belligerent punk when they put the transmission in drive. Arrogance and ego consume the psyche and the worst comes out. The problem is, too many of us suffer from what doctors clinically refer to as Stupid Driver Syndrome. These are the people who drive 60 mph down Highway 160 through Pahrump's 35 mph commercial corridor. They drive 60 mph down Calvada, Blagg, Homestead, Basin, Mesquite, Simkins, Pahrump Valley Boulevard and the list goes on from Aardvark Road to Zurich Street. These are the nimrods that wait until you are 100 feet away before pulling out and cutting you off. These are the maniacs who pass you on the double yellow heading down the mountain to Vegas. These are the goofballs that tailgate with their high beams aimed at your rearview mirror. These are the morons who are too busy talking on their cell phones to use their turn signals. I suspect it wouldn't be such an issue if all we had to deal with were maniacal, goofball morons who are nimrods when it comes to minding one's manners on the street, but this is more than rudeness. People are dying before their time because other people are speeding way too fast for the valley's narrow, poorly maintained, unlighted roads. Other drivers and their passengers are dying because they are unbuckled and either speeding or sleeping on Highway 160, a stretch of road with the most unforgiving shoulders in the region, an opinion wholly endorsed in a Thursday interview with Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Kevin Honea. Yes, I would prefer government to be small, manageable and transparent. That will never happen because we have proven, through our wholesale refusal to abide by the most sensible of our laws, that we can't be trusted. To that end, be advised the Nevada Highway Patrol has beefed up its presence on Highway 160 and motorists are getting pulled over for driving in the 80s and 90s. Sheriff Tony DeMeo has also taken notice of the increase in serious if not fatal traffic accidents within Pahrump and deputies will be cruising with the radar on. I can't believe I'm writing this, but I'm glad the police are ready to crack down on drivers who put their own lives, and yours, in jeopardy every time they pull out of the driveway. Steps have to be taken to get the cosmos back in order or the carnage will continue unabated. One more thing - put on your seatbelt. They save lives; the proof is indisputable. Please. Write to Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@pvtimes.com. |
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