06 crashOmg! Watch out! Fayetteville and Cumberland County's streets have gotten much more dangerous and deadly in the past few years.

I know what you are thinking: Fayetteville has always been a problematic town to drive in because of how our streets and roads are laid out, and the myriad driving styles. These things added to the fact that drivers are often unfamiliar with the streets makes our city and county a pretty dangerous place to drive.

I've been driving in Fayetteville for over 50 years, and the very first rule that was instilled in me was: Whenever I'm stopped and waiting at a traffic light: "DON'T go on the green!" That's because this community is notoriously known for ignoring signals and running red lights.

Now, in the last couple of years, it seems we have a much bigger and treacherous problem on our hands and our streets. The problem is caused by the fact that hot-rodder’s and lawless "fast and furious" twerps riding four-wheelers, crotch rocket motorcycles, and mini cars with roaring obnoxious tailpipes and exhaust systems have taken over our city streets.

And, in their wake, they leave telltale signs of their destruction and contempt for the law. If you travel around the city regularly as I do, seldom a day goes by when you don't come upon two or three accidents involving personal injury, loss of life, or property damage.

Telltale signs are everywhere. Look around and pay attention as you casually drive along the streets of Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Notice the 25-100 yards of tire skid marks on the surface of the street where sudden braking became a matter of life or death. Notice the tire tracks in the medians, traffic signs run over, the orange barrels and pylons marking the spot where someone lost control and hit a guardrail. Last and one of the most blatant indications of motor vehicle lawlessness is the mounting number of donut-style burnouts in the middle of the road. When a motorcycle driver locks his front brake and spins his bike in circles burning up his back tire, it creates dense smoke while leaving huge black circular tire marks in the middle of the street.
Also, have you ever wondered why you see all those damaged plastic bumpers alongside the road? They didn't just far off a car. They were knock off when that vehicle collided with an inanimate object, most likely a concrete curb.

Here are a few other signs that speed and traffic law defiance are causing community concerns. Pay attention to the makeshift memorials, crosses, and flowers of street side memorials dedicated to victims who have died from vehicle negligence. Just look around. Pay attention. These disastrous signs are just too numerous to ignore. And, it will only get worse unless our leadership takes direct action and does so soon.

Several factors compound this problem. First is the "fast and furious" trend promoted and idolized in recent movies where young people are going out and buying small cars and installing loud, boisterous and obnoxious exhaust pipes that get louder as the vehicle accelerates. So, go figure. The race is on! The faster they accelerate, the louder the pipes sound.

Then comes the adrenaline rush when they realize they are exceeding 100 mph on city streets. Then comes the panic, loss of control and the crash. The evidence is everywhere. With the city down about seventy enforcement officers, our streets are becoming lawless racetracks. Traffic laws are not enforced, no tickets are written, and many officers feel it's not worth the hassle since they are not supported with most of the empathy going to the violator. Sad but true. Law and order are what defines our civilization. Right now, what is taking place in our community is only the tip of the iceberg of what we are in store for if we allow people to ignore the rule of law in our community intentionally.

I write this because I am worried and afraid of the consequences we will have to endure if we cannot get this situation under control. I'm worried about that van of young children being driven home from the daycare. I'm afraid my employees won't arrive safely to work. I'm worried those two early morning joggers won't be able to get out of the way of that speeding car, losing it on the "high side." I'm concerned that my wife may leave the house on a simple trip to the grocery store, and I'll never see her again because we neglected to enforce the traffic laws that were designed to keep us safe and protected. I don't foresee our current leadership addressing this problem anytime soon. However, it is on other people's radar. So, in the meantime, please, please, please be careful on our city streets, county roads, and interstate highways. Drive extra, extra defensively, and take nothing for granted. At Up & Coming Weekly, we love our readers and don't want to lose any! Thank you for reading our community newspaper.