When is a law not a law? And who must obey the law? Even some flag-waving Americans have a propensity to skirt along the edge of some laws, while crying, “heinous!” at those who break other laws.
Take traffic laws for instance; those are meant to be broken, isn’t that right? If you don’t get caught, it is OK to break those laws, yes?
When is it OK to speed, run a red light, not stop at a stop sign, drive and drink, or to fly past a stopped school bus?
As vehicle traffic congestion exponentially grows in greater Wilmington, adherence to all traffic laws becomes imperative.
For instance, when a pedestrian is in a legal crosswalk, do you know who has the right of way, the pedestrian or a moving vehicle?
Ask Nancy Gonzales that question.
Nancy was struck by a pickup truck in broad daylight at the Banks Channel bridge crosswalk at South Lumina Avenue on June 16. Nancy had parked at Wynn Plaza to take, what for her was, a customary walk around the heavily pedestrian-trafficked Wrightsville Loop.
Knocked to the pavement, she has a great deal of pain, facial fractures, bruised legs, knees, arms and hands at a minimum. Nancy will only fully know the extent of her injuries as the months pass. Injuries sustained from getting hit by a moving truck can take many weeks to appear, as any good personal injury attorney will tell you. She is still not back to work at her job in the beach town’s parking office. Nancy said this week, “I am so blessed and fortunate to be alive.”
The fact that the driver was allegedly under the influence of “something” doesn’t help the sad situation.
Pedestrians in a marked crosswalk have the right of way; humans take precedence over 2 to 3 tons of moving metal and molded plastic.
Drivers fly through pedestrian crosswalks in the downtown beach area paying no attention to those attempting to cross the street. It was inevitable someone would be struck. Until heed is paid, drivers slow down in their haste to get wherever they are going, more calamities like this are bound to happen.
Walking the Loop one morning this week, I witnessed a fire department emergency vehicle coming toward me with siren and lights activated, a Wrightsville police vehicle not far behind it. As they flew past me, the street had little to no other traffic. Minutes later, a New Hanover rescue unit, siren and lights activated, appeared in the distance, but in the intervening minutes the roadway had filled up with moderate traffic. As the rescue unit came closer and closer, I was appalled to see that the cars and trucks on the roadway did not either know or feel the urge to move out of the way for the emergency vehicle, causing it to swerve in and out of the cars, trucks, even a car towing a boat trailer, horn blaring the entire time.
It was an unnerving spectacle.
Emergency vehicles always have the right of way under North Carolina traffic laws. Drivers are required to move to the curb at the right-hand side of the road and come to a complete stop, remaining there until after the vehicle has passed. How hard is that, pull over as far right as possible and completely stop? Unless there is a four-lane limited access highway with a median divider, this applies to traffic in both directions.
It is not optional. Failing to comply can bring fines and points on a driver’s license. Failing to do this can also cost valuable response time for the person or people in crises the emergency vehicle is racing to reach. Failing to pull over has also caused the emergency responder to tragically wreck the emergency vehicle. All totally avoidable.
My son is a captain in a county fire department that also responds to I-95 emergencies near the Florida/Georgia border. At one point in his career he literally drove the truck, so, as a mother, regardless of how well-trained and how masterfully he drives at high speeds, I retained a vested interest in his maximum safety as he accomplished his missions.
Then too, when I see an emergency vehicle speeding away from an accident, forced to swerve in and out of unyielding traffic, or delayed, I often think, what if I were the one injured in the back of that vehicle swaying to and fro, siren and horn blaring?
So the question is, who is exempt from the law? Just important people with the newest vehicles? Who decides? And law enforcement officers, those with a badge and a gun, are they exempt from the laws? And is it only the big laws that have to be adhered to, or is it all of them? Is it OK to break a law when no one is looking, no one knows?
In the manual for living, Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, tells us that it is, “The little foxes that spoil the vine.”
Ultimately we all will be held accountable for the things we do and don’t do, even when no one is watching or we thought it was no big deal.
But in the meantime, when behind the wheel of a car or truck (or boat), slow down, be courteous and obey the laws, all of them; the big and little ones, please.
