...When All is Said and Dunn

Bill Dunn took the week off from the grind of writing a weekly column. He said, "Just run a repeat if you want." We went back through our files and found his first correspondence to our paper. It was written in the form of a "Letter to the Editor" and was published in the November 20, 1998 issue. We refer to it as "The One That Started It All." Some of you may remember it. A few of you may have even pinned it on the office bulletin board. At any rate, we hope you enjoy, as they say on TV these days, the "encore presentation" of Bill Dunn's letter.

Dear Mr. Baskin,

In a recent issue of the Temple City Weekly, in the “Our View” Column titled “A Little of This ... a Little of That,” you briefly touched on something I believe should be elaborated on ... the current driving conditions here in our fair city.

I have been a resident of Temple City for 38 years and have seen numerous chances here, but none as dramatic as the complete loss of logic in the driving arena, and a circus arena is what it has become. What is happening at the DMV? Have they stopped giving driving tests? Some of the most basic driving rules are being ignored on a minute by minute basis. We either have a lot of unlicensed drivers or there is some evil experiment being performed on us to test the patience of drivers in our community.

Where to start on this conspiracy? Ah yes, TURN INDICATORS - USE THEM!! They are a very important tool in driving. It lets the majority of us with diminished psychic abilities know what insane stunt you are about to undertake. Maybe we can stop you, maybe not; at the very least we can try to avoid you. I was unaware that Mercedes and Lexus had discontinued including turn indicators as part of their standard equipment. Perhaps this is something exclusive to the San Gabriel Valley, because when I am driving in the San Fernando Valley, theirs seem to be working fine. Go figure. For those unfortunate souls who own these vehicles, please learn hand signals. The other 95% of us would greatly appreciate it.

Then there are the traffic signs and arrows. These are meant for everyone to follow. They are in no one language, they are symbols that are international, designed to be understood by everyone, from the well-educated to the mentally challenged.

So when I see someone going the opposite direction of the massive arrow painted on the ground in the parking lot at Ralphs, visions of public floggings enter my mind. Even given the implausible scenario that the driver suffers from dyslexia and thinks the arrow is pointing the opposite direction, how do they ignore the fact that all the cars in the lane are going against them? On second thought, flogging is not severe enough.

Now let's talk about the schools' drop off and loading zones. If your children are incapable of opening their own door, unfastening their seat belt and exiting the car, you should not be in the drop off or unloading zone to begin with. It is also not the appropriate spot to have a discussion with your children on whether or not they have on clean underwear or if they remembered their homework. Drop off means you pull up, your child gets out and walks through the school gate. If this system is alien to you or beyond your comprehension, do not get in line for dropping off. It is not a parking zone, which means you don't get out of your car and walk them in. If you need the exercise that badly, join a gym or park a couple of blocks away so we don't have to deal with you.

Oh, by the way, PULL ALL THE WAY FORWARD and pull in behind the last car in line. The only thing you achieve by driving around the cars that are in the process of dropping off is creating a traffic carnival of terror. If one of these mornings you happen to look in that mirror that is hanging from your windshield you may notice that there are others behind you trying to achieve the same thing you are.

Finally, speed limits are not a suggestion. It is how fast you should be going. If you feel you must go 20 miles an hour on Temple City Boulevard or Rosemead Boulevard, stop driving a car and get a bicycle. At the very least, have the common courtesy to pull to the right to let the flow of traffic pass. Again, most cars are equipped with a rear-view mirror, it is there for a reason - to see what is happening behind you, not to hang fuzzy dice from.

Remember, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Yours in driving frustration,
Bill Dunn
Temple City