I witnessed something today that is becoming all too common, and quite honestly, really ticks me off!!!
I live and work near the intersection of Dewey & Ridgeway Avenues in the city, where there is a very large, very busy firehouse. Today, during the evening "rush-hour" Engine 10, was traveling eastbound on Ridgeway, lights and sirens, air-horn blasting, and
NO ONE WAS PULLING OVER TO THE RIGHT!!!!
It makes me nutty!!! These brave men and women are trying to do their jobs, and they do not need inconsiderate people on the road making it harder for them to get to where they are going!
I see this all too often with all emergency vehicles. It seems that everyone is always in such a hurry that they forget basic driving etiquette, as well as traffic law!
So, on this feast of St. Michael, let us ask him, the protector and defender of the faith, as well as the patron for police officers, St. Florian, patron of firefighters and St. Ignatius Loyola, patron of soldiers, to protect these brave men and women as they do their jobs.
And people, let us always remember,
"There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."
Police officers, firefighters, and all the members of our military services do this everyday, for their friends and for perfect strangers, we the people of the community!
Please let us keep them in our prayers and do what we can to keep them safe!
Peace to all!
Persis,
ReplyDeleteUntil recently I used to live a few streets south of Aquinas so I am well acquainted with the area. I think people have their booming bass radios up so loud that they can't hear the sirens. Also many drivers are plugged into their headsets for their Ipods and are totally oblivious to anything around them. This is a sad reflection on the "common good" which isn't common anymore.
Another thing that annoys me are those outdoor cams that watch our every move. Ostensibly they are put up for security and that is true, they can be used for that. But if the government wants to they can and will use them to spy on the citizenry. The City of Rochester is getting us used to cameras on the streets. Where does it stop?
I remember once seeing an ambulance coming up behind me on Monroe Ave., down by the old Sears building. As I recall I was at an intersection and had to navigate to get out of the way. Apparently the ambulance crew did not agree with my strategy as I was bawled-out on their truck's loud speaker as they passed by me --that I was supposed to get out of the way!
ReplyDeleteThose traffic cameras: I first came across those while driving in Scotland. The roads were twisting, hilly and only two lanes, one in each direction; impossible to pass! It was impossible to make any time and so our schedule was gradually falling apart. To try and gain back some time I would really put the pedal to the metal when we came to a straight-a-way. I had noticed some signs along the road that displayed an icon that looked like an old "view" camera. I began to think that it was signaling an approaching scenic pull-over but I seldom saw a pull-over. After several days of these kinds of roads and those signs I learned what the signs meant. Oh boy, was I in trouble. While waiting in a parking lot, I remember seeing one of those cameras flashing pictures of speeding cars along a stretch of road. Surely I was going to face a slew of speeding tickets when I dropped off the rental car or when I got the final car rental bill in the mail after we got back home. Nope! I was spared. The camera boxes I passed must not have had cameras in them on those days or surely I would have gotten some tickets. I paid a price, however. It definitely took some fun out of the trip as I worried about getting tickets the whole rest of the trip.
Wow, that's terrible! I think the most outrageous thing I saw was on Mt. Hope Ave one afternoon. I was driving up out of the city and pulled over to let an ambulance pass. After it passed, I checked for additional emergency vehicles and when the coast was clear, I started to pull back into the (single) lane. Halfway into it, the van that had been tailgating me all the way up the hill pulled around me into the oncoming traffic and sped up the hill, nearly smashing into about a dozen other cars pulling back into the lane.
ReplyDeleteI guess we inconvenienced her.
The worst I've ever seen as far as cars not giving right-of-way to emergency vehicles was when I lived overseas. Four lanes of city traffic in each direction and the ambulances, law enforcement, and fire trucks had to plod through just like everybody else.