Drivers ignoring red lights, crosswalks

In the past two years I've had both my knees operated on and have had a total knee replacement done. I've had the time to watch the drivers and their driving habits as I went to and from appointments downtown or on the North Shore.

Kamloops drivers are in a sad state of affairs. Just a few days ago I got off the transit bus and happened to see a driver turning from 4th Street onto Seymour Street and just narrowly missing a child who was on a plastic bike with his father beside him.

The father yelled out "Hey, this is a crosswalk." The driver stopped his vehicle for a few seconds, then kept going. As a pedestrian myself on crutches, then using a cane to walk around, while waiting for the light to change so I could cross an intersection, the light would change, I would start to cross the intersection then all of a sudden a car would make a turn and go in front of me.

Mostly I would notice that the driver would be in the age range from their 40s - 60s. They don't even look to see if there is anyone at the intersection wanting to cross. This has happened quite a few times in the past two years while I was walking around.

Another thing that is a concern for me is that drivers of all ages would run a red light either going straight through an intersection or running through a red light at an intersection that has a turn signal. Over the past few years I've seen it happen with more regularity; why is this happening more and more?

The drivers need to give themselves more time to get to wherever they are going. I've also seen more and more pedestrians jaywalking when a crosswalk is only 10 or 15 feet away from them. The pedestrians, too, need to give themselves more time to get to wherever they're going.

EDMOND JOSEPH

Kamloops