Some Bogalusans need to take a remedial driving course: You know who you are!


Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:36 AM CST


I can’t tell you how much I dislike driving in Bogalusa and the surrounding areas. I have lived in almost every area of the country, and I can say without hesitation, that Washington Parish has more bad and/or just plain rude drivers per square mile than almost any place else in the country.

Here are just a few of my pet peeves:

1. Stop signs are not just a suggestion. Everywhere I go in this town I have to keep my head on a swivel when I come up to a four-way stop sign, hoping that I won’t be the only driver to stop their car. Even worse is driving on a main thoroughfare past a cross street with a stop sign, knowing that somebody might just keep coming.

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2. Yellow lights do not mean floor it through the intersection. It’s hard to imagine that there could be so many people who have an emergency of some sort and just can’t sit through a light. Maybe some of us are more important than others and should be allowed a pass. Not!

3. Why must I guess what the driver in front of me is going to do? I like to play games as much as the next person, but really, can flicking your turn signal up or down be such a chore?

4. Does getting to your destination 30 seconds faster warrant speeding around a couple of cars and jumping in front of the line? Aside from being extremely rude, it’s dangerous.

5. Talking on cell phones is going to kill someone before it’s over, one way or another. Have you ever been behind someone talking on a cell phone and watched your speedometer slow to a crawl? Have you seen an accident or a near-miss? Do you daydream about grabbing that phone and turning it into a projectile? In my opinion, talking and driving don’t mix.

6. What’s worse than talking on a cell phone while driving? Texting!! People, just stop it!

7. Eating while driving. See number 5 above.

8. Putting on makeup, reading or any number of other ridiculous activities I’ve seen people do while at the wheel of a car. See number 5 above.

What causes more anxiety than any of the things noted above is the fact that, since I’ve come back here to live, I have never seen anyone in this town, or parish for that matter, get pulled over and/or ticketed for any of these things. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but I sure haven’t seen it. If you travel to other places around the country, you’ll see that it happens a lot. Every time I read in The Daily News ( of course!) about budget woes around the parish, I wonder: Wouldn’t enforcing traffic laws bring in more money to help balance the budget? I’m just saying.

I have to admit that I am not without fault. I’m not a perfect driver, but I am a safe driver. We all need to realize that driving is a privilege, not a right, and to keep everyone safe, happy and sane, we need to drive the way we were all taught back in high school. Let’s all try to be courteous drivers. It’s contagious (I hope!).

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Comments

    Reader Comments

    The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of downtownnews.com.

    Lisa Beall wrote on Nov 6, 2009 11:21 AM:

    " Hallelujah! So glad to see it's not just me who is stunned and amazed by the invisible stop signs and the need to pass 3 cars at once (on a double yellow line) just to get to a turn 5 seconds faster. What happened to simple common courtesy on the road? "

    Mary wrote on Nov 7, 2009 8:04 AM:

    " Ever been to Pearl River? Worst drivers around. Run stop sign, pull out in front of you, go 5 mph and turn at next block with no signal. We joke about everyone there graduating from the "Pearl River Driving Academy". And, yes Bogalusa isn't much better. "

    mary wrote on Nov 9, 2009 3:20 AM:

    " Everything on your list is right, BUT, Washington Parish cannot be the worst.
    Have you ever driven in Covington?
    Have you ever driven in Slidelll or other towns?
    I think you just drive in Washington Parish, I find all on your list in EVERY town Iv driven in.
    I dont think all the fussing you do, is gonna change the driving habits of drivers
    I do agree harsher laws should be imposed
    Mary "

    From there wrote on Nov 9, 2009 5:09 AM:

    " Obviously you have not driven in the Dallas Ft Worth metroplex-DFW metro was voted the worst traffic with the rudest drivers in the country. FYI if you are from Washington Parish then you know why these people aren't getting ticketed. Its who you know not how you go! "

    SafeDriver wrote on Nov 10, 2009 9:05 AM:

    " Perhaps the people that voted DFW to have the worst drivers hasn't driven in Louisiana. It's not just Bogalusa or Washington Parish. I've been back several years and it still stuns me how crazy people drive. The only place similiar I know of is Belgium. "

    Edmond Chandler wrote on Nov 13, 2009 1:57 PM:

    " I do not believe that Bogalusans are any worse drivers than other cities. I moved to Bogalusa after 20 years in Mandeville, and was glad to get out of that rat race!

    I lived near the foot of the Causeway overpass, and at times could not drive to the Winn Dixie shopping center!

    Cars were coming in every direction... speeding ... total lack of courtesy. AND SO MUCH TRAFFIC!

    That was 7 years ago. It's much worse now!

    I'm glad to be in small town Bogalusa!

    We should all be more patient and courteous to other drivers.

    GO BOGALUSA! "

    paul wrote on Nov 13, 2009 9:38 PM:

    " much of the bad driving in washington parish is due to our large number of both older and sick folks just trying to get around and survive. it would be wise for us all to be both patient and prayerful of these drivers because by Gods grace we also may one day be their age. its easy to find faults with everything but i am learning to thank God for the good things about washington parish amen. "

    Terry B wrote on Nov 14, 2009 6:31 AM:

    " i fully agree with ,not driving while TEXTING ,if you love your kids, take the texting off their phones,and i agree with the comment about pearl river i see it all the time, "

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Thank you for your comments!

Reader Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of downtownnews.com.

Lisa Beall wrote on Nov 6, 2009 11:21 AM:

" Hallelujah! So glad to see it's not just me who is stunned and amazed by the invisible stop signs and the need to pass 3 cars at once (on a double yellow line) just to get to a turn 5 seconds faster. What happened to simple common courtesy on the road? "

Mary wrote on Nov 7, 2009 8:04 AM:

" Ever been to Pearl River? Worst drivers around. Run stop sign, pull out in front of you, go 5 mph and turn at next block with no signal. We joke about everyone there graduating from the "Pearl River Driving Academy". And, yes Bogalusa isn't much better. "

mary wrote on Nov 9, 2009 3:20 AM:

" Everything on your list is right, BUT, Washington Parish cannot be the worst.
Have you ever driven in Covington?
Have you ever driven in Slidelll or other towns?
I think you just drive in Washington Parish, I find all on your list in EVERY town Iv driven in.
I dont think all the fussing you do, is gonna change the driving habits of drivers
I do agree harsher laws should be imposed
Mary "

From there wrote on Nov 9, 2009 5:09 AM:

" Obviously you have not driven in the Dallas Ft Worth metroplex-DFW metro was voted the worst traffic with the rudest drivers in the country. FYI if you are from Washington Parish then you know why these people aren't getting ticketed. Its who you know not how you go! "

SafeDriver wrote on Nov 10, 2009 9:05 AM:

" Perhaps the people that voted DFW to have the worst drivers hasn't driven in Louisiana. It's not just Bogalusa or Washington Parish. I've been back several years and it still stuns me how crazy people drive. The only place similiar I know of is Belgium. "

Edmond Chandler wrote on Nov 13, 2009 1:57 PM:

" I do not believe that Bogalusans are any worse drivers than other cities. I moved to Bogalusa after 20 years in Mandeville, and was glad to get out of that rat race!

I lived near the foot of the Causeway overpass, and at times could not drive to the Winn Dixie shopping center!

Cars were coming in every direction... speeding ... total lack of courtesy. AND SO MUCH TRAFFIC!

That was 7 years ago. It's much worse now!

I'm glad to be in small town Bogalusa!

We should all be more patient and courteous to other drivers.

GO BOGALUSA! "

paul wrote on Nov 13, 2009 9:38 PM:

" much of the bad driving in washington parish is due to our large number of both older and sick folks just trying to get around and survive. it would be wise for us all to be both patient and prayerful of these drivers because by Gods grace we also may one day be their age. its easy to find faults with everything but i am learning to thank God for the good things about washington parish amen. "

Terry B wrote on Nov 14, 2009 6:31 AM:

" i fully agree with ,not driving while TEXTING ,if you love your kids, take the texting off their phones,and i agree with the comment about pearl river i see it all the time, "

Submit a Comment

We encourage your feedback and dialogue. All comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
(optional)
   

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