Reasons Why We’re Seeing a Spike in Idaho Highway Deaths

I saw three near accidents in under a few minutes.  It was Saturday afternoon in Twin Falls.  I was driving eastbound on Falls Avenue past the College of Southern Idaho when a driver pulled into traffic from a side street, crossed both eastbound lanes, and turned west.  She never looked at me as I braked hard to stop.

A block away, I turned right onto Blue Lakes Boulevard and headed south.  A driver pulled out of a gas station parking lot and directly in front of the car ahead of me.  The driver ahead of me braked and fast.

One block south, a car with tinted windows headed northbound suddenly turned left across two busy lanes and into a parking lot.  Traffic ahead of me was forced to brake abruptly.

This is a Routine Day in Southern Idaho

Frankly, I’m surprised we aren’t seeing more accidents.  Between people who ignore other drivers (possibly distracted by gadgets) and the people who simply don’t care about others, this looks to me like a serious and growing problem.

Idaho roads have never been so crowded, and will be getting even busier as the population boom shows no signs of slowing.

People are Downright Hostile

A few months ago, I made the same turn from Falls Avenue to Blue Lakes as an aggressive driver was practically driving into my tailpipe.  Then he zipped into the left lane, made a vulgar gesture, and left and heading east on Filer Avenue.  He was in a hurry, and the safety of others didn’t bother him.

I noted his Gooding County license plate and remembered an experience several years ago in Wendell.

I stood on a street corner with a Gooding County Deputy as he counted drivers passing and not wearing seatbelts.  Three-quarters of them skipped the belt.

I read with sadness about the man from Minidoka County who died in a weekend crash.  The police report said he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt.  I realize this sounds like nagging, but he might very well still be with us.

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