To Squash and Kibosh Bad Driving

“With great power comes great responsibility.” – Uncle Ben, Spider-Man

The above quote rings true for both superheroes and drivers alike. Anytime you get behind the wheel of an automobile and turn the ignition, you become instantly responsible for the safety and lives of others, including yourself. You must anticipate everything: cars backing out of driveways, children playing in the street, pedestrians wearing dark clothes at night, construction detours, jaywalkers, animals crossing the road, bad weather, cyclists riding alongside you, etc.

Driving is a privilege, not a right. Unfortunately, some drivers choose to ignore this great responsibility, believing they have the right to drive aggressively, carelessly, distracted, impaired, etc. Their behaviour on the road reminds me of Goofy in that old cartoon where he transforms from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde whenever he gets behind the wheel of his car.

Bad driving is a bad habit, and it’s always infuriating whenever drivers cut others off, steal parking spots, blare their horns, speed, tailgate, weave between lanes, cross solid lines, ignore stop signs, red lights, school zones, or railway crossings, refuse to yield the right of way, etc. This behaviour is extremely reckless, dangerous, irresponsible, and even criminal.

I have no respect for motorists who jeopardise and disregard the lives and safety of others because they selfishly believe that traffic laws and the rules of the road don’t apply to them. Did they get their license from the bottom of a Cracker Jack box? Do they even have a license? Did they ever bother learning how to drive? Why are they so reckless and impatient? Are they really in such a hurry to get to the great beyond? The answer to all the above: they shouldn’t be on the road.

To be fair, there are plenty of cyclists, skateboarders, rollerbladers, and pedestrians in the world who also engage in reckless, dangerous, and irresponsible behaviour, so all parties share the great responsibility of practicing safety, whichever mode of transportation they choose. However, motorists are still the ones who cause the most damage in an accident, so they must be extra vigilant.

It really sucks whenever you turn on the news and learn that a careless, distracted, or impaired driver not only killed themselves but also wiped out an entire family in the fatal collision they caused. It sucks even more when you turn on the news and learn that a careless, distracted, or impaired driver wiped out an entire family yet walked away unscathed from the fatal collision they caused. Why must innocent people lay dead on slabs in the morgue, while the motorists who put them there get to live full lives? Where’s the justice for the deceased and their families?

As you can probably tell, bad drivers really push my buttons. I think it’s largely because everybody knows somebody who’s a victim of their recklessness. I suffered whiplash as a kid. I have a family member who was rear-ended and T-boned, getting injured on both occasions. My family and I have tragically lost both a family friend and a family member in two separate unsolved hit-and-run fatalities. Again, where’s the justice for the deceased and their families?

I once vented on social media about a careless driver who stopped in the middle of a crossing at a dangerous intersection, forcing pedestrians like me to step outside the white lines to get by. I was told by one reader to “take a chill pill” and that my “assumption of bad intent is just wrong”. We must look at the stats on pedestrian fatalities to see just how many deaths and injuries occur at the wheels of such drivers. There is a reason why the government gives drivers a “license”. As I pointed out earlier, driving is a privilege, not a right. When it comes to knowing my rights as a pedestrian, I’m cool. No “chill pill” needed. Before you defend bad behaviour or prescribe “chill pills”, make sure you have all the facts first.

All this bad driving in the world has been getting under my skin for a long time. As both a pedestrian and a cyclist, I obey all traffic laws and follow the rules of the road, so I expect others to do the same. I walk often for recreation, and constantly see cars going through red lights and stop signs. I once pressed the button at a high school crossing and a car sped through the flashing lights to avoid stopping. Unbelievable.

However, the worst experience I had at the wheels of a reckless driver occurred last autumn. A family member was visiting from Toronto, and we went on a nice long walk throughout our small city’s trail system. After exiting the park and having lunch at a restaurant, we began walking home. All was well for several blocks, until we found ourselves waiting on a street corner for the traffic lights to turn green. When the lights changed, we began crossing…

Suddenly and without warning, we were nearly hit by a car that first cut us off trying to run a red light, slammed on the breaks in the middle of the crossing, and then almost backed into my family member. I snapped a photo of the car’s license plate, though it was from out of province, so I doubt there’s much we can do with it.

That’s another problem. The police never seem to be around when these incidents occur. I’m not blaming the constabulary. I understand they must respond to all sorts of crimes and can’t be everywhere at once. Still, I’d love to see a reckless driver get pulled over by an officer and held accountable for their actions.

Unfortunately, it seems the motorists who receive the most tickets are those who forget to put more coins in the parking metre or park in a space outside the designated hours. Unless the vehicle in question is blocking a fire hydrant, ambulance zone, and so forth, I feel parking infractions should become secondary to saving lives from bad drivers.

I really hope our elected officials start brainstorming some solutions to this serious issue. The various levels of government need to work together and draft more accountability for motorists who engage in bad driving. To be fair again, I know driving is tough and even the best drivers make mistakes, but some mistakes can kill. It’s been a few months since I last encountered a bad driver, but I’m even more cautious.

My suggestion to both police and politicians alike would be to consider deputizing crossing guards to hand out tickets for traffic violations that occur within school zones or install speed cameras at all major intersections. Maybe using traffic calming technology such as speed bumps, chicanes, radar signs, bollards, or flexible delineators throughout residential neighbourhoods as well. Even if these suggestions are expensive, you can’t put a price tag on human lives.

So, what will it take to finally squash and kibosh bad driving? I strongly believe we need more accountability for motorists who drive impaired, recklessly, distracted, etc. I wish there was something more I could do other than writing a blog post about it, but I have no power to change the status quo. Hopefully, various words of concern like mine will someday reach those high enough to make some positive change in the world. May we never forget all the poor souls who lose their lives at the wheels of bad drivers. Vayan con Dios, amigos.

These images speak for themselves.

Fear and Loathing in Toronto: What the Hell Happened to my Hometown?

“Living in the city, you know you have to survive.” – Living in the City, Sonic R

I’m deeply saddened and disturbed by the news reports of the current crimewave gripping the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Toronto’s public transit system. These incidents hit especially close to home, as I’m a born and raised Torontonian. While I now live in a small city, I was always a pedestrian and I also used both the TTC and Government of Ontario (GO) Transit, a commuter train and bus system.

In fact, one of my jobs for several years was to verify the delivery of free newspapers throughout the TTC’s subway stations. I loved this job. Unfortunately, my happiness came crashing down when I was assaulted on a subway platform one beautiful summer morning. I suffered from this ordeal and was on sick leave for several months. During that period, the department I worked for was shut down and I was subsequently laid off. This was around the time that Toronto was becoming increasingly more gentrified, overpopulated, expensive, and dangerous. This wasn’t always the case, though.

Toronto in the ‘80s and ‘90s was a special place and time in the world. The city was cleaner, safer, more affordable, less congested, and had a funky vibe. There was a thriving artistic bohemian community near Queen and Spadina. You could see the CN Tower and Lake Ontario instead of just endless walls of high-rise condominiums. Downtown was chockfull of cool bookstores and record shops. The malls had something for everyone instead of just high-end boutiques. Local landmarks such as the long-departed Sam the Record Man, World’s Biggest Bookstore, and Honest Ed’s drew in crowds of tourists. It was a magical place.

Over the years, my family and I watched Toronto’s slow and gradual transformation into its current form. We stuck it out in the big city until a few years ago, when the escalating crimewave could no longer be ignored. We started having close calls. I was at Yonge–Dundas Square a few hours before a fatal shooting. I obliviously walked down Yonge Street during the van attack. We drove along Danforth Avenue on the day of the mass shooting. By the grace of God, we always managed to get out of the wrong place at the right time.

I never thought I’d leave the hustle and bustle of the big city. Unfortunately, Toronto had become too crowded, dangerous, and expensive. With my assault on the subway and our close shaves, we no longer wanted to tempt fate. It was time for us to throw in the towel, pack up, and leave the big city for a small one. Change is never easy for those of us on the autism spectrum, so my willingness to leave the only home I’d ever known tells you something of the dire situation there. Thankfully, we left Toronto before the pandemic hit, again, by the grace of God.

While we may now feel safe in our new home, we still worry for all our friends and family we left behind. Toronto’s crime and gentrification have gotten much worse in the years since we left. It’s an interesting paradox: a city for the rich under siege by gangs, criminals, and murderers amid a global pandemic. A place where excessive wealth and extreme poverty collide with little to no middle-class in-between. Perhaps I’ll do a more in-depth deep dive on this topic later.

It feels like Toronto has become increasingly more dangerous over the past twenty years. It’s a place where a serial killer stalked the gay village. Where gunshots rang out at the Raptors’ victory parade. Where a woman was immolated on a bus by a psychopath. Where a homeless man was savagely stabbed to death by a gang of teenaged girls. Where TTC commuters are now getting randomly attacked and have become victims of crime during their daily commutes. Modern day Toronto now resembles Gotham City. All that’s missing is the Bat-Signal and Batman himself.

In closing, I mourn the city I once knew and loved. I worry for our friends and family still living there. But I’ll always remember the Toronto of my childhood and teenaged years with great fondness. I listened to a CBC radio show or podcast awhile back that summed up the nostalgia of the ‘90s perfectly: “the Berlin Wall was down, and the Twin Towers were still standing”. Man, how I wish I had a time machine to go back to that simpler and safer world. I’d stay there if I could.

What the hell happened to my beloved city?