Minnesota Prairie Roots

TRAVELING ALONG 35E in the south metro recently, we pulled alongside an empty car carrier. My husband joked that he should move over and drive our van up the ramp and hitch a ride.

In this photo taken of the front passenger side mirror, you can see how close the tailgater is to our van.

Some two hours later, retracing our route, a car followed us so close I thought it would drive up the rear of our van. We weren’t laughing. Such tailgating rates as irresponsible and dangerous.

I zoomed in on the tailgating driver who couldn’t wait to get around us. I’ve obscured his license plate; lucky him.

What’s so important that a driver must snug nearly as tight as a puzzle piece into another vehicle? Instead of waiting for Randy to move into the right lane when traffic conditions safely allowed, this driver tailgated us, then zoomed to the right around us, squeezing between our van and a car. I might have said something like idiot.

This week, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is focusing on the dangers of distracted driving. More than 300 law enforcement agencies across the state are participating in this extra enforcement effort. In Moorhead, police officers have found an innovative way to catch drivers who are texting or otherwise engaging in dangerous behavior. They are riding in school buses, giving them a bird’s eye view into vehicles. How clever is that?

Tell me, what have you seen on the roadways that made you want to shout idiot?

How can we curb this ongoing problem of irresponsible and distracted driving that’s endangering, injuring and killing innocent people?

© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling