Letters to the editor | Sunday, March 21, 2021: Dangerous drivers in Stanislaus County

Dangerous Modesto, Stanislaus drivers

So many drivers in our area drive as if they are living in a video game! Someone pulls out of traffic quickly, guns it and moves quickly into another lane, which triggers another to chase after them. I’ve nearly been hit more than once, and, especially on the freeway, it’s scary.

Modesto ranks eighth out of 57 cities with auto injury or death with 1 being the worst rating and 57 the best. Modesto has 95 deaths per 100,000 per year. This is a problem.

Modesto and Stanislaus County need to get a handle on this. I understand law enforcement has a multitude of challenges to deal with. But auto racing, loud engine noise that exceeds the legal limit, racing and weaving in and out of traffic are injuring and killing us unnecessarily.

What will the city council and county supervisors and law enforcement do to curb this problem? Public service announcements on TV, billboards that teach safety over showing off, citing the grim statistics, and better auto safety taught in classrooms are all effective strategies.

Lynn Telford-Sahl, Modesto

Miracle no one got killed

I live in a quiet area in Turlock, but I often hear cars racing on streets all around me. I assume Turlock police are addressing this frightening issue, as it seems to calm down for awhile and then start back up again.

I am absolutely horrified by the vision of two senseless fools racing north on Highway 99 during the day on March 15 at ridiculous speeds and one of those drivers attempting to maneuver in between two cars. Are you kidding me? A pregnant, innocent driver with two young children in the car was subsequently forced off the road, off the highway and plummeted to a street below. Unbelievable. It is amazing that no one was killed, but the poor, pregnant woman in that vehicle suffered multiple broken bones, not to mention serious mental trauma, I am sure. Fortunately her unborn baby and her two children survived, apparently without serious injury. Those two racing drivers could have killed a multitude of innocent people with their criminal carelessness. Three innocent drivers suffered car damage, headaches and absolutely unnecessary trauma.

Something really needs to be done to stem the tide of this very dangerous activity.

Kymn McGrath, Turlock

What makes athletes better?

Re “Putting sports above school is just wrong, in Stanislaus County or anywhere else” (Page 6A, March 11): Garth Stapley certainly hit the nail on the head. Ludicrous is the word he used in his article on sports resuming. Young people cannot be in the classroom, but they can be on the playing field.

We should all take notice, however, that it is only sports that is resuming. Drama students aren’t on stage, choir practice and band practice haven’t started, speech tournaments haven’t resumed. What makes athletics more important, one wonders?

Carole Swan, Turlock

Preserve our precious delta

Recreational waterways. Habitats for native species. Drinking water. Incredible natural beauty. World-class fishing and hunting. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta provides Californians with so much!

People live on the delta because they can swim, kayak and paddleboard not to mention jumping in their boats and making a day of visiting the many restaurants and marinas that provide entertainment by boat. If we don’t take care of our delta, we will have none of the above.

But the health of our Delta is threatened by aquatic invasive species. Thankfully, the California Division of Boating and Waterways uses a science-based approach with removal and safe application of approved herbicides to help control these invaders. The division needs our continued support and resources to build on this success. The health of the entire Delta — and our California way of life — depend on it.

Jim Mattison, president, Discovery Bay Community Foundation

GOP hypocrisy

The response to the COVID pandemic has highlighted the hypocrisy of the Republican Party. They complain that Biden wouldn’t reach across the aisle to work with them on the stimulus, but they won’t encourage the cooperation of Republican state legislatures to mitigate the spread of COVID so that we can have a standardized, national response to the pandemic. I have heard several conservative governors, such as Texas’ Greg Abbott, say that he will leave it up to his state’s residents to decide what is the right thing to do, but this same right does not extend to a woman’s reproductive rights.

The Republican Party picks and chooses their values when it fits their narrative and their political aspirations. Hypocrisy, plain and simple.

Anita Bruce, Modesto

Democrats did it all

Now that the Democrats have pushed through important legislation to help with the COVID pandemic (the Trump plague), I think it’s important to suggest something: Anyone who voted for Trump or a Republican at any level in 2020 should donate their stimulus check to a charity of their choice. It was only Democrats who voted for this bill. Only Democrats are trying to help the economy. Only Democrats want to help the working class of America, instead of the very wealthy.

So take that $1,400 check (oh, wait! that’s socialism!) and donate it to a worthy cause. I suggest Planned Parenthood, or the Freedom From Religion Foundation, or the ACLU. Or better yet, a Democratic candidate in 2022, since Democrats are the only ones concerned with your well-being. But maybe you’d rather donate it to one of those TV preachers like Joel Osteen, who drives a Lamborghini, lives in one of the country’s largest private residences, and doesn’t pay taxes. Because, you know, he has your best interests at heart.

Gaetana Drake, Modesto

It’s all about fear

During the Capitol riots, I kept hearing those supposed patriots saying “We’re taking back our country!” My first thought was “where did it go and who took it?” If you read between the lines, these individuals are acting out in true fear — fear of becoming the minority in this country. And everyone knows when people are scared of change they act out. Unfortunately, these people act out in violence.

This is exactly what the Donald wanted; this is his Make America Great Again. The fear he has instilled to his base is loud and clear. These people know how they have treated minorities for centuries.

Jake Moon, Ceres