Dear Editor,

Danville is a small city. Compared to a huge suburban area, Danville is a spot in the road — a grease spot left by the many fatal accidents Danville isn’t able to get control of.

Citizens howl when fatal accidents occur. “Why aren’t there more lights; why isn’t signage in place to warn drivers who have trouble seeing; why are there not more stoplights, stop signs, and yield signs?”

The city commission declares, “We will do something for the safety of our constituents.” So they put in bike lanes on Fourth Street because a few in their constituency want to be like Europe and the rest of the world. But we are not European; we are American, and we love our cars.

The gas guzzling behemoths that have downsized into midget mechanisms, and get us there quicker than some silly gadget that is fun for kids.

Let’s take into consideration the many drivers here in Danville who don’t know the rule of a four-way stop. Rather like kids in elementary, who let their pals cut in front of them in line, wave other drivers on through. There are other rules for the road, as well, that every driver is required to know. The rules are designed for safety, and when followed, usually make driving safer for ALL drivers.

I would like to suggest two reasons for the many fatal accidents in the Danville-Boyle County area that have nothing to do with electricity or lack of signage.

Most important is drivers not paying attention. Blame cell phones all you want, but a cell phone isn’t making a driver not pay attention; the driver is. It is true cell phones, when being used while driving, will distract a driver.

There are a number of other reasons that distract drivers; not the least — eating a Big Mac! Danville is a grease spot; these are not the main reasons here! Danville has grown and there are lots more drivers here than 10 years ago!

Here in Danville, I would suggest a mixture of folks not heeding more drivers on the road, local drivers not studying their driving manuals, and the city not properly preparing infrastructure before inviting new businesses here is adding to drivers not paying attention. These are resulting in the many — relative to city size — fatal accidents happening here.

Jeffrey L. King

Danville