Entitlement Mentality

No, I'm not going to rant about any political crap, as the title might have led you to ASSuME. I am however, going to bitch about a common issue I hear about nearly every day on the road.

Today I turned on my CB Radio to find myself listening to a regularly occurring conversation which went something like this:

Driver A: "North bound, you got a full grown with a capture about the fourteen yard sticker."

Driver B: "10-4, you're lookin' good back that way, there was a broke down oversize on the shoulder at about the four but it might be moved on. Looked like they was just fixin' to roll when I passed by."

Driver A: "Thank ya, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when ya get to it."

Driver B: "You to!"

Driver C: "Just passed the capture here at about the fourteen and a half. Don't they know it's fifty-five through here?"

Driver B: "Awww, you can roll through here at sixty or better with no problems usually. Cop must just be an asshole."

Driver D: "C'mon man that full grown's just doin' his job just like we're doing ours."

Driver B: "Yeah, well he shouldn't be hassling that driver like that. Everybody does it, it's just dumb to expect us to only go fifty-five."

=================================================================

And this is where I started getting annoyed. Why is it that truck drivers, hell ALL drivers, think they're above the law? It's this sort of attitude that really gets my gruff these days with people in general, more so where it pertains to driving, since that's my job and my life.

I myself am guilty of breaking the law, especially the speed limit law. I have no problem admitting that I do speed from time to time, particularly in states like Ohio and Illinois where the truck speed limit is set at 55.

I am not going to justify my actions because I know that I'm in the wrong when I am breaking the law intentionally. I believe that there is NO excuse for breaking the law in any situation no matter what type of vehicle you're driving.

I've had people try to argue a point of being in a car on the way to the hospital with someone in a dire straits emergency probably dying in the back seat as being a legitimate excuse to break the law. They claim that it's Okay since they've got on their hazard lights, which apparently give any average joe to all clear to speed uncontrollably from point A to point B at no caution to the rest of the motoring public.

But as far as I know, from speaking with friends who are emergency personnel, including cops, paramedics and firefighters, it is not legal or even remotely legitimate to do this no matter how near death the person in the back seat may be. If the person was in that bad of shape, an ambulance should have been called so that at least the person could be treated while in route (safely) to a hospital.

But I digress....

I guess what drove me bonkers about the conversation I heard on the CB today was the fact that it seems that motorists feel it's no big deal to break the law. That no matter what speed they're going, cops should just leave them alone as long as they aren't causing accidents or other traffic tie-ups.

Just remember that speed limits are set to protect the public.

Generally when you see a posted speed of 55 on an interstate it's because there are multiple entrances and exits and/or there are high statistics for speed related accidents in that particular area. So really, that 55 MPH zone is protecting you and everyone around you, coming and going. By choosing to break the law and the speed limit, you're jeopardizing potentially hundreds to thousands of lives, including your own.

Yes, you might think I sound like some stoopid Public Service Announcement, but damnit, I'm just telling you the truth. Like I said, I break the law myself and speed when I feel inhibited by a speed zone. I believe it's in our nature to want to go fast, break the rules, and hope not to get caught.

But it's not our obligation and certainly not our RIGHT to break the law. We are not entitled to exceed the posted speed and we must certainly not fool ourselves into believing that the hard working law enforcement officials across the country are doing anything other than protecting each and every one of us from our reckless selves.

And that's all I have to say about that....