MAILBAG: City deserves driving reputation

As a relatively new resident of the beautiful city of Glendale, I am now able to bring a first-hand perspective to the label given to Glendale drivers as being among the worst in the country.

And that perspective, I am sorry to say, is that it is true. In the short time I have lived here I have been exposed to the rudest, most aggressive and uncaring drivers I have ever seen.

I’m sorry if that offends some residents, but only those who fall into this category should be offended. The rest of us who have to drive ever so carefully in an effort to avoid the antics of these drivers need no explanation.

I give tremendous credit to the Glendale police who I have noticed have really focused on addressing this problem, and have expanded their presence as an effective deterrent. However, they can not be everywhere. We, as residents of this beautiful city, must do it ourselves.

Everyone is so concerned about labels and not categorizing a certain group as the offenders. The truth is that it doesn’t matter. Young, old, white, black, Latino, it doesn’t matter — bad drivers transcend all age groups and races. The only way to resolve this problem is to recognize it and deal with it.

To that end, I am calling out all the relatives and friends of bad drivers. You know who you are, and you know who they are. I begin by challenging parents to direct their children to operate their motor vehicle in a safe and respectful manner, and to be prepared to take strong measures if they don’t respond.

When handled by a bad driver, a car becomes a dangerous weapon. I challenge you to set standards of driving, and to hold them to it, or institute consequences. I challenge wives, husbands, brothers and sisters to bring your relatives’ bad driving habits to their attention, and to shame them into dropping those bad driving habits.

I challenge everyone in the Glendale who has friends who are bad drivers to bring their poor driving habits to their attention, to explain the consequences, including the negative label it places on our proud city, and encourage them to change their habits.

It is only by working together that we can set aside this stigma and work toward Glendale being rightfully recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in the country, instead of the city with the worst drivers. Let’s make it happen!

MANUEL HERNANDEZ

Glendale

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