KEEP OUR ROADS CLEAN

KEEP OUR ROADS CLEAN.

The United States is one of the most fortunate countries to have the best transportation systems which includes freeways, highways, streets and even back roads. We can travel to any point on the map and find civilization by driving on the roads. The scenery is impressive and sometimes breathtaking.

During the last 2 months of my travel in the US and Canada, I have noticed how disrespectful some people are to our roads. Look around the next time you are out driving and observe the sides of the roads and freeways. Note how much trash is obviously being thrown out of the car windows. It makes you wonder how safe our freeways are if drivers are dining while they are driving and then disposing of the trash on our roads. Where is the respect, and do they do the same at home by throwing their trash on the floor after they are done eating? Unfortunately, no matter what state you are in, you can see trash that has been thrown out of some car. Why can’t they just keep it in the car and drop it in a trash can at home or a public one that we all have available at some corner mall or store. Another thing that bugs me is the sneaky way that the smokers try to get rid of their cigarette butts by hiding it in their hand and dropping it slowly like we do not notice this while driving right behind them. How sad to think how many fires they have caused.

Everyone knows there is a fine for throwing trash on the road, but they still do it. I would be glad to see them get fined. I'm sure they think that it was just a little trash, but a little trash from every car becomes large amounts to ruin our roads.

A prime example of seeing the magnitude of this problem is when we see all the ORANGE BAGS on the side of the road that have been filled. Since our jails in our legal system are so crowded, and many of the "offenders" cannot pay their fines, these people have the option of doing "community service" which means we see many of them filling these bags on the weekends. Thankfully, this does help. But if everyone took care of their own trash properly, the counties could use these labor hours for other important and much needed services. Please keep your trash in your car and dispose of them properly. Consider the roads as being our exterior homes which should be respected.

And another issue....The next time you use a shopping cart/buggy, please return it to the area reserved for them. I try to take care of my cars, and it's not fair that some lazy person or someone who doesn't feel he/she has 30 seconds to return their cart, is responsible for dings and dents in my car and feels no responsibility for the damages. Let's keep our outside homes as beautiful as our inside residences. It all begins with us.