A plea for road courtesy

Last week, a bus struck and killed a six-year-old boy and injured his father in Beit Shemesh. A senior MDA medic said the boy was “trapped under the bus and unconscious, suffering from severe systemic injuries. During the complex rescue efforts of firefighters, we tried to give him medical assistance, but his injuries were very severe, and his death was confirmed at the scene within a short time.”

This tragedy should be more than a wake-up call. An urgent request for volunteers to man intersections is a good idea, but it will not solve the attitudinal problem of extremely aggressive drivers, especially those in buses and taxicabs who intimidate and bully other drivers and pedestrians.

In the 12 years since we made aliya, the situation has gotten much worse.

At our own intersection in Ramat Beit Shemesh, drivers too often speed up in making the turn from Rav Herzog Street into Asher Street. This intersection is used by hundreds of young children going to or coming from school. The speed bump is in the wrong place and is not high enough to deter the speeders.

Will the situation improve? It appears that common driver courtesy is not only absent but is the sign of a freier (sucker), a dreaded cultural phenomenon in these parts.

Courtesy, civility and respect for others have been drowned out by those who refuse to give way to others, and the virtual absence of police enforcement fuels this mindset. ISRAEL and BLOSSOM RUBIN

Beit Shemesh