Small crimes. No one is looking. No one will get hurt. So, what’s the harm? Some might call them crimes of opportunity. I prefer to think of it as opportunity meeting a momentary lack of integrity.
Driving reeks of such infractions. Take, for instance, driving the wrong way on a one-way street. I live on a southbound one-way street and often see such bad behaviour firsthand. It seems these drivers live by the adage: “A one-way for you but not for me.”
Some drivers speed the wrong way down my street, as if breaking the law for a shorter period of time mitigates the transgression. This is no small crime. It’s a dangerous menace.
Some drivers reverse the wrong way down my one-way street. “Reversers” think that if their car is pointing in the direction then that cancels out the fact that their car is moving in the wrong direction. It doesn’t.
These bad actors are mercifully rare. The most common one-way wrong way, the one I see on almost a daily basis, are the drivers who use the mouth of my one-way street to make illegal turns onto the east-west main road. There are also those who come out of a laneway 40 metres from the top of the road and go north to make illegal turns. They don’t want to drive all the way to the end and circle back so they simply pretend it’s a two-way and act accordingly.
Little transgressions. Like those committed by drivers merging onto the westbound Gardiner Expressway on-ramp at Lower Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto. After the city got rid of the Logan Avenue on-ramp, things did not go well. In 2023, a communications officer at the City of Toronto told me that drivers had been observed “jumping the queue” and that city staff had seen “multiple instances of unsafe driving behaviour and near-misses.”
The city put in bollards to close off the on-ramp lane and prevent those who are not in it from merging late.
This has failed.
Carefree commuters now execute the “Jarvis Jut.” They wait at a red light and the moment it turns green they veer obnoxiously from the centre lane into the traffic legally using the on-ramp and cut into line.
These little crimes are a problem because when it comes to driving, small missteps can lead to big trouble. People who drive the wrong way down a one-way might think, “What’s the harm? It not that far and I’m driving slowly.” The Jarvis Jut gang might think, “It’s not right that I have to wait.”
Tell that to the cyclist who isn’t expecting to meet an automobile driving north on a one-way that goes south. Tell it to the kid who walks home along that street and isn’t expecting a car to nose out and make an illegal turn.
I’ll sound alarmist, but when it comes to traffic, crimes of convenience lead to a lack of rigour that can lead to lethal mistakes. You start ignoring the occasional one-way sign and it’s not that far a leap to ignoring other rules.
You’re only going 15 kilometres an hour over the limit in the 30 km/h zone. Once you get used to this infraction, you find yourself going 30 over.
You’re only parking in the disabled space for a few minutes.
You’re only using your smartphone when stopped at traffic lights.
You’re only having a few drinks before you drive home.
You’re only lucky until you’re not.
When it comes to driving, we all make mistakes. There’s no need to increase the number by developing sloppy habits and ignoring the rules when it seems safe to do so. If drivers start to ignore what they consider minor inconveniences, they are setting themselves up to make bigger errors in judgment. Besides, the seemingly innocuous misdeed can have a terrible outcome.
Every mistake made while driving is a potentially lethal mistake. It’s like Christopher Marlowe says, “Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed in one self-place, for where we are is hell, and where hell is must we ever be.”
Go now and sin no more.
Attention Headlight Haters!
The Federal Government wants to hear what you think about headlight glare. “Transport Canada wants to learn how headlight glare affects road users and what vehicle or lighting features may influence how people experience it at night.” They’ve put together a survey and want Canadians aged 16 and over to participate.
The survey runs until April 20.
I know how angry, confused and passionate you are about this volatile topic. Here’s your chance to make an impact. I’ll be following the results closely.