There are bound to be some people who look at the members of Alexa’s Team and nod sagely to themselves about at least some of its members.
They’ll shake their heads and say things like, “it figures” or “no surprise there.”
They’d be reacting, with little doubt, to the faces they see in the pictures on our pages in this edition. Those images are of the RCMP and Central Saanich Police officers who are mainstays on area roads and have become instantly recognizable to anyone who has been stopped for one driving infraction or another.
However, any smug replies should be tempered by the fact that those people were probably stopped because they did something wrong — and needed to be corrected.
You cannot blame police officers who are doing their jobs and responding to the near-constant call by residents all over the Peninsula who want more enforcement of driving rules.
Don’t like getting a ticket for speeding? For failing to stop at an intersection? For driving while distracted? Then stop doing those things. You’ll probably see less of those officers.
I had the opportunity to meet one once, while speeding to work one morning. Yep, I was speeding.
Yep, I deserved the ticket and the warning. I saw no sense in arguing the point — because I was speeding — so I engaged in friendly banter with the officer and tried to make the experience a positive one.
He did his job. I certainly didn’t do mine as a supposedly responsible motorist.
Unless drivers are completely out to lunch, they know they are speeding. And since many of us drive every day, we should not be out of practice when it comes to signaling, merging or being aware of what’s going on around us. If it takes a police officer to remind you of those things, perhaps it’s time to take a refresher course.
In the meantime, we should be glad there are dedicated officers out there, addressing poor driving habits and helping prevent tragedies such as the one that led to the creation of Alexa’s Team in the first place.