Re: "Stop signs, red lights don't mean 'slow,'" July 27.
Steve Wallace's column made my day. I am one of the two per cent, maybe three per cent, of drivers who come to a full stop at stop signs and red lights.
I learned my lesson the hard way in 1956 in Hull, Quebec, when I was ticketed for running a stop sign at 5: 30 a.m. on a sunny summer morning that resulted in an accident that came very close to killing me. The ticket cost me $10. However, from that day, I come to a full stop at all stop signs and red lights.
I have friends and relatives in Victoria who stop "if necessary" at stop signs. We have some lively discussions. The excuse one makes is that not having to come to a full stop saves on gas.
I live near the intersection of Richmond and Richardson streets, a four-way stop intersection. Almost no motorist or cyclist stops unless absolutely necessary. I have witnessed some near-collisions. I suggest that special constables be hired solely to patrol, in pairs, intersections with stop signs. I have been told by Public Works that there are about 1,000 stop signs at intersections in Victoria. At a cost of $167 for a stop-sign violation ticket, special constables could earn our fair city a bundle of money as well as greatly reduce the number of accidents, some of which could result in one or more fatalities.
Peter deWolf
Victoria
