A recent email message from a reader brings up a sore subject previously addressed in this space. The irate Ajijic resident wrote: 

“This morning the fourth dog this year was hit on my street, once again by a speeding gringo. Yes, the dog WAS walking off-leash with its owner, but this Shepherd is a large, gentle dog and trained to heel.  He was at most three steps in front of his owner when the car raced through the intersection and struck him down. The dog started screaming with pain.  It was horrible. 

“The driver simply was not looking where he was going, racing down 16 de Septiembre, paying no attention to the fact that he was even going through an intersection! 

“Does someone have to be hit and killed before the message to SLOW DOWN is understood around here?  There are many pedestrians in villages, including babies in strollers, children, seniors and dogs.  Who on God’s Green Earth feels they have the need –or the right – to do 40 MPH on these narrow cobblestone streets?

“Am I the only one saddened about the dead bodies of dogs by the side of the road?  I think not!”  

Happily, in this case, the injured canine survived. But the comment on the dangers of high velocity travel along village streets is well taken. Lakeside’s Traffic Department commander points out that the speed limit on interior streets is 20 kilometers per hour, or a snail’s pace of 12.4 mph. On major thoroughfares and the Libramiento bypass, the speed limit ranges from 40 to 60 km/h. The top speed permitted on open highway stretches goes up to 80 km/h. 

Granted, foreigners don’t have a monopoly on terrible driving habits in our community. But it’s appalling to see expats blatantly flaunt traffic laws and universal concepts of safety and common courtesy they followed before crossing the border. 

There are careless boneheads who blow through intersections without braking or glancing left and right to see if another vehicle is headed along the cross street. And those who barrel along one-way streets in the wrong direction-including service roads that run parallel to the main highway, where travel goes the same way as the nearest traffic lane. 

More perilous are the unwary motorists who stop short to turn off the highway, oblivious to others following close on their tails. It’s a common cause of local fender-benders and more serious collisions. 

Lesser hazards are caused by drivers who block passage when they park inches away from the corners on tight village streets, or fail to pull in close to the curb, or double-park while out on “quick” errands. Rude is applicable adjective for the oblivious who hog scarce parking spots by leaving gaping holes fore and aft of their cars. 

So come on folks! Let’s drive safely, mind our manners and practice the Golden Rule.