When I moved to Buda about 11 years ago, I felt I’d moved to a little town where everyone knew my name, my child’s name and, given time, would feel comfortable enough to “thump” my child on the head if he veered from the right path. Since then, our little berg has tripled in size and we have had to adjust to more motor vehicles on our two-lane farm-to-market roads.
A few thoughts:
First of all, driving is a privilege. Remember the Driver’s Ed book you studied so hard? You still have to follow those rules. They haven’t changed and just because you’ve managed to not kill anyone does not mean you won’t tomorrow! Our roads have varied speed limits. Just because you’ve chosen to sleep in, stay past your curfew or to entertain your loved one does NOT give you the right to push the vehicle in front of you ... not even if you’re the governor, the mayor or the head of the pep squad.
Let’s review ...
• It’s still one vehicle length per 10 mph distance between you and the car in front of you for safe response. (Note to the guy who tried to “push” me to Buda last December when three “reindeer” crossed FM 967 at 8:05 a.m. It gave you a new outlook on life, did it not? Hope you had a Merry Christmas!) As for the rest of you, the gap between me and the car in front is NOT your golden invitation to merge. It is my safe zone.
• Thou shalt not attempt to cross the double yellow lines to pass ... in a residential area, on a farm-to-market road or EVER. (Note to teen who almost made several people late to dinner…enough said.)
• It is NEVER wise to pull into 55 MPH traffic when you only have 50 foot of clearance, even if you really DO have a “Bad *** truck!”
• If you’re in downtown Buda, you really should know about the “left lane ends, merge right” sign in front of O’Reilly’s parts store. Must you be first and thrust your car between two cars where there is obviously not enough room? (I’ll thump you myself on this one.)
Yes, a lot of the people in this great town of Buda know your name and would be perfectly comfortable “thumping” some for not following the “righteous” path of our wonderful little berg!
“B” Brooks
Buda
