Toomany Chicago motorists dangerously flout traffic laws

In your article “Red- light changes nowhere near enough, alderman say” ( March 22), you quote Ald. Anthony Beale ( 9th) as saying, “It’s not the yellow. It’s not the red. It’s gonna be that countdown that allows people to understand whether I have enough time to slow down, or do I need to speed up just a little bit to get through the intersection without getting a ticket?”

Coming from a lawmaker, this statement is extremely troubling. First of all, the countdown timer is intended for pedestrians to know if they have enough time to walk across the street, not for drivers to know if they should “speed up” to go through an intersection. More troubling is the fact that too many drivers in Chicago openly and continuously flout the law and drive in reckless and illegal ways that endanger others. According the “Fatality Tracker” on chi. streetsblog. org, eight pedestrians and a bicyclist have been killed by drivers on Chicago streets this year. This includes three hit- andrun murders.

Numerous others have been injured by drivers who blow through stop signs or lights and who fail to yield to pedestrians. Chicago drivers should start to slow down and respect traffic laws. A yellow light is a sign to slow down, not speed up. You won’t get a ticket if you follow that law, which is extremely easy to do. Also, you are just as likely to get caught at the next red light, so follow the law and stop. Bruce Tyler, Hyde Park

Buy a ticket

Unless Shannon Watts’ true motivation was to cause airline employees to lose pass privileges, she needs to mind her own business. Employees and their families are very aware of the dress code required to fly using passes and know that they are expected to adhere to it.

If she thinks what happened in Denver was wrong, she should have been around 30- 40 years ago when the dress code was more stringent. As a pass user, for the most part I was one of the best- dressed passengers, as I took the dress code very seriously and would not have wanted to cause the airline to consider taking that “perk” away. She needs to realize those flying on passes can dress like anyone else boarding that plane— all they have to do is buy a ticket! Janet Lumm, Schaumburg

Inept president

Perhaps we were wrong about Donald Trump’s chances of becoming president. We were spot on correct about another thing. He truly is a totally inept president. Martin Nicholson, Niles

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