It's drivers not the road
I write in response to the Nov. 1 letter about Highway 46, "The road is the problem." The author was infuriated by the statement made by a highway patrolman, that the accident was a consequence of "inappropriate driving." I couldn't agree more. The "infuriating" statement was "dead-on." Blaming the road or the condition of the road for an accident makes about as much sense as blaming the Kern River for the many drownings that have occurred there over the years. The implications of nonsense thinking is to suggest that a river or, in this case, a road, has the capacity for intent. The drownings in the river and the accidents on the roads are examples of abject irresponsibility.
During my 50-plus years as a long-haul truck driver, I have accumulated well over 3 million miles on a variety of roads, some of them being little more than widened cowpaths, and have driven in 31 of the 48 contiguous states and during this tenure have not had a chargeable accident. I'm not a "know-it-all" on driving, but I do know safe driving is in the hands of the person behind the wheel and no adverse circumstance such as weather, roads or traffic change that.
I wish more people would drive with that reality firmly implanted in their minds. There would be far fewer accidents and deaths as a consequence of that mindset.
KENNETH L. GERMAN
Shafter
