Hudson Valley Drivers on Empty Roads Actually More of a Menace

With fewer cars on the road, you'd think it would be safer to get behind the wheel. Sadly, I haven't found that to be the case at all.

Although many Hudson Valley workers are now at home, you may have noticed that those who are out on the road are not being as careful as they probably should be.

Essential employees and those heading out to do necessary shopping are still venturing out of their homes. Those drivers are being greeted with endless green lights and virtually empty streets. The false sense of safety that "being the only one on the road" brings, however, is something that is beginning to cause some serious problems.

There's no hard data to show whether there is a larger percentage of drivers getting into accidents now than there were before the quarantine, but there's some anecdotal evidence to suggest that Hudson Valley drivers are in a dangerously fearless mindset.

Traveling back and forth to work each morning I've observed some insane drivers up and down Route 9 in Dutchess County. During normal times the drivers in our area can be nuts, but now it actually seems worse.

From swerving cars taking up two lanes of traffic, to speeders under the impression that the traffic laws are no longer being enforced, I'm seeing a disproportionate amount of recklessness going on. Earlier this week I witnessed one driver visibly texting while cutting across three lanes of traffic, almost taking out someone who thought it was a good idea to be walking right down the middle of a busy road.

It's as if people now assume that traffic signals and speed limits no longer apply. Obviously, that's not the case. Yesterday morning a stretch of I-84 was completely closed down to remove vehicles that had driven down into an embankment. And further down Route 17, a fatal car accident had vehicles backed up for miles. And this was just one morning, with the majority of Hudson Valley cars still sitting in the garage.

The last thing you want right now is to have a car accident sending you to the hospital. Not only do you risk exposing yourself to patents recovering from coronavirus, but you'll be taking resources away from those who really need it.

Look, there's really no place anyone has to be in a hurry right now. So slow down, keep your eyes on the road and take a deep breath. With so many green lights you're going to get to your destination way earlier than you normally would anyway, so why not use the extra time to make sure you get there safely, too.

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