I have been witness to severe injury crashes. I have watched people die. I have found people already dead. I have been haunted by the crosses and memorials left by loved ones. I have lost sleep at night. I have prayed infinite prayers for those struck with tragedy and for those who must deal with the aftermath.

You might be thinking that I’ve served in the military, or that I am a policeman, firefighter or paramedic, but I’m not. I’m simply a 23-year-old who happens to be home at the right time (even though often it seems like the wrong.) Why has someone who has barely lived been plagued with such traumatic experiences?

Not only do people refuse to slow down on my road, but even after pleading with law enforcement for it to be better patrolled, we are met with no response. At every accident, we have asked if there is anything that can be done to try and prevent it from happening again. Yet nothing is ever done. No patrol officer is sitting with radar, and rarely do any law enforcement even drive past.

I’m not trying to demean or attack any person or agency; I am merely trying to figure out why our cries are met by nothing. I pray for those who serve this nation in spite of the things they witness, the people they deal with and sometimes the sacrifice they willingly make.

But why, after years of countless wrecks and death on a road which sees roughly 3,000 cars per day (a road that often is a short-cut for traffic off a road with counts of nearly 6,000), has nothing been done? I have quite a lengthy drive to work. I know exactly where state patrol sits regularly and also county officers. I never fail to see at least one car with radar. On a day after an accident, its not uncommon to see as many as five within a 20-mile stretch. While I understand a highway gets a significantly higher amount of traffic than our mere 3,000, why is there not at least one patrol on an equally accident-prone road?

I have nearly been hit trying to check the mailbox. Cars fly past without slowing down or attempting to move over. I have seen my father, wearing a bright fluorescent vest, nearly hit while doing yard work. Something needs to change because doing nothing is no longer acceptable.

I realize this issue is nationwide. Drivers are more distracted than ever and going over the speed limit is now the norm. However, when it gets to the point cops are sitting so frequently in the same area that drivers knowingly go slower in those spots, don’t you think its time to change up the patrol area?

I am grateful for all that everyone serving this nation does, but I don’t want the next time I call 911 to be because someone has hit my father.

Jessica Taylor
Talmo