Ignore or respond?

In every jurisdiction you need to do a written test or rules of the road and a test of road signs if you want to get your beginner’s license. To help prepare new drivers, it’s always recommended to review the local driver’s handbook or website. Knowing the rules of the road and what each sign means is a big part of driving safely. The added part that many drivers ignore is actually responding to the information signs.

For years as an instructor with Young Drivers of Canada I would see warning signs and ask the student what the sign means. They would often get the meaning correct, but wouldn’t respond to the warning. Why bother looking at the sign if you aren’t going to do anything about it?

This morning, like every other weekday morning, I put on the local morning news show on TV. The traffic and weather reports are what I’m interested in the most. The first thing I heard was the road I travel on was closed. I live on top of an escarpment and therefore, have limited roads to take down into the city. His is similar to having to cross a river and having limited bridges to take to get to my destination.

What caused the road to be closed? A driver took a curve too quickly and drove off the escarpment and into a ravine. The driver survived the fall, but for obvious reasons, the police had to close the road.

The interesting thing about this curve is that a yellow warning sign tells the drivers how slow to take the curve, plus there are other yellow warning signs to indicate a sharp curve to the right. The weather was poor, so the driver also needed to reduce speed to give them time to respond to the curve. That’s why the warning signs were there to begin with.

Seeing the sign is the first step, but responding to it may be more important.