Distracted drivers
I was pleased to see letters written by Sequim High School students in the Oct. 22 Gazette.
The purpose of writing a letter to the editor is to share an opinion, inform the public and officials on an issue, and share a community conversation.
This is a very important skill for life these students are learning.
I want to add some information about safe driving.
The young writer stated concern that drivers become impaired as they age. Statistics show that cell phones, when used by drivers of any age, contribute to traffic accidents by causing distracted driving through visual, manual, and cognitive distractions.
Studies show that texting and other phone use significantly delay a driver’s reaction time. Drivers are four times more likely to crash when using a phone compared to those who don’t. Texting while driving increases the risk of a crash by 23 times; this is comparable to drunk driving.
Other activities that contribute to distracted driving include eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, and fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation systems.
Texting is the most alarming distraction.
Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 MPH, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field.
Patsene Dashiell
Sequim
Legal tender now illegal?
As a retiree who enjoyed high school sports, and remaining active in recreational sports since, following high school teams has been a constant.
I rooted for my hometown Cardinals through my career, now follow the Wolves in the papers, as well as attending a few basketball games each year.
A couple years back, I went to a playoff game and was denied entrance because they wouldn’t take cash for a ticket.
I thought maybe the post season had some special requirements, but the next year, again, at a regular season game my cash or even a debit card was refused.
“You need to sign up ahead of time online,” she said, but told me to just go in without paying.
Another time I decided to try to get a ticket online the afternoon of the game, spent a long time trying to do it, setting up an account, only to find out that day’s game was not listed.
The last time I tried, I was able to print out evidence of paying for a ticket, plus paying a service to do the transaction, and it was accepted.
Why does buying a ticket to a game have to be so complicated?
Why not accept simple cash?
Doug Smith
Sequim
