Lauri Marder: About driving dangerously on Route 2

Over a month ago on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, my partner and I drove past the scene of a very recent motorcycle crash. We first noticed the shredded parts strewn across the road, the helmets. Neither of us is a trained medical technician or doctor so there would have been no point in stopping.

We saw that there were a few cars stopped, people were phoning for help and running to assist the stricken riders, both thrown far from the site of the collision, one soon to die, the other grievously injured with loss of limbs and the driver in the involved vehicle in shock, her car destroyed. I won’t forget this crash, and won’t stop thinking of the people involved, wishing, as no doubt they did, that we could roll back time, and have them all healthy and well again.

Many people are noting that people drive too fast on Route 2. We all drive vehicles that can go much faster than the speed limit. They are powerful, and they are dangerous. At this point the only thing that keeps our cars and motorcycles safe for us and for others is our attention — attention to how fast we are driving, where we are driving, who is around us, and what might be around the next bend — someone who is on the wrong side of the road, an animal, a pedestrian, a stopped or slower vehicle, or someone just trying to get out of their driveway … or a child.

It would be good if people driving Route 2 paid more attention to how they are driving. Attention is a gift that can be given over and over again. It’s the gift that might make it less important to get past the guy in front of you, and be able to stop in time to save a life.

Lauri Marder

Shelburne Falls