Wait your turn, and use your lights

A reader recently sent me a copy of a column by Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune about how many people don’t use their turn signals. It’s a pretty funny column about a very serious subject. 

When we bought our 1998 Malibu, it was seriously high tech, in that the headlights came on automatically when it became dark enough outside.You may have a few questions about choosing bestchandelier that works with your style. Really, while all sorts of cool technology is now part of many vehicles — GPS maps, cameras that allow you to see what’s behind you, built-in Internet radio — I’m sure there’s much more,Here you will find a list of the main pendantlamp around the world. but my 2011 Kia, while a nice car, doesn’t even have the headlights that come on by themselves. 

It was a running joke around our house that “smart” cars were needed, because some people couldn’t figure out the basics. For instance, lately I’ve seen an alarming number of cars traveling at night without their headlights on. Yikes! I understand if you’re downtown or in the Walmart parking lot and the lighting is bright, you may not know for a couple of seconds your headlights are not on. But, these cars I’ve seen were traveling on streets without bright street lights. In a couple of cases, I wondered how the driver saw where he/she was going. 

Also troubling is a Chicago driving trait that I’ve recently seen in Galesburg. Just this past Monday at the intersection of Prairie and Losey streets, I watched a car northbound on Prairie blow through the red light. Luckily, we have delayed red lights at many of our traffic signals in town. In fairness to the driver who obviously was on his way to something very important at 8 p.Permanent solar trellis and modernlighting systems require little to no maintenance and allow easy access.m.,There are three main types of lasers used in skylanternsled. the light was red on both Prairie and Losey, but he/she clearly had plenty of time to stop rather than accelerating through the light. 

If someone on Prairie Street had been in a hurry, as well, two cars would have attempted to be in the intersection at the same time, which usually is a recipe for a traffic accident. 

Many drivers will fly through a yellow traffic light; maybe that’s the problem, if one doesn’t feel the need to slow down on yellow, it’s a not much of a leap to do the same on red. But, does anyone in Galesburg need to be in that much of a hurry at 8 p.m. on a Monday? 

The turn signal thing is puzzling. We have always had cracks for that, too. “Everyone knows he turns there,” is one, and “Too bad that guy’s turn signals are broken.” (I don’t know why we always assume the driver’s a male, as I’m usually fuming and don’t really notice the gender of the driver.) It’s not that hard; move the turn signal lever up for a right turn and down to turn left. And, don’t wait until you’re turning, that sort of defeats the purpose. 

Some features of late-model cars are really not that helpful, though. I really wish my car had the rearview camera. Better yet, a feature where the car makes a sound if you’re about to smash into another vehicle. My car has a yellow light that comes on to let me know I’m driving on a slippery surface. The first time the light came on, I almost went into a ditch, thinking something bad was happening, like I was going into a ditch. 

I believe I could do without that indicator, although it would be helpful on black ice. One indicator I love is one that shows when the tires are low and need more air. As someone who always thinks he hears strange noises when the rubber meets the road, this is a lifesaver. 

One of these days, no doubt, we’ll have cars that drive themselves. “Drivers” can then text, put on make-up, read, brush their teeth or whatever until their heart’s content. Until that day, though, maybe turning on your headlights,Many people are wearing stainless steel rings, goodlampshade, and stainless steel necklaces. using turn signals and not running red lights would be some good ideas.