The road to recklessness

One day later, on Tuesday 2 September, I’m driving on the CR178 between Schleiwenhaff and Reckange-sur-Mess. This country road has several bends and inclines, crosses an embankment and is largely obscured from view. There is the usual heavy evening traffic in the south and many cars are heading towards Reckange-sur-Mess. Three cars are driving in front of me and several others behind me. On this stretch of road, over the course of ten minutes, I bear witness to three dangerous overtaking manoeuvres.

From the first bend before the embankment, I can literally feel the impatience of the drivers – a taxi and a family car – in front of me. In front of them, there is a lorry, driving at a considerable speed.

The cars behind the lorry constantly veer to the left in an attempt to overtake. But they are unable to do so on the steep climb to Roedgen. Such a manoeuvre would be extremely risky given the reduced acceleration capacity, a blind bend and fast-moving oncoming traffic.

Once they reach the village of Roedgen, the moment has finally arrived. The taxi senses its chance to overtake the lorry before the climb and a blind bend and sets off. I hold my breath. Fortunately, oncoming traffic only appears a minute later (Can you sense my sarcasm here?).

Then, the family car overtakes the lorry at an excessive speed on the long straight stretch towards Reckange-sur-Mess. As I am now driving just behind the lorry, I stay behind it, because it is still travelling fast, the oncoming traffic is fast and there are several bends ahead.

To my surprise and horror, I see in my rear-view mirror that the red van behind me is about to overtake. It overtakes not just me, but also the lorry, and manages to pull back into the right-hand lane just before coming into contact with a car driving in the opposite direction.

In the space of ten minutes, three ordinary drivers endangered their own health and lives, as well as those of many other people. Such scenes occur daily on this road, sometimes even worse, especially when cyclists are overtaken in the opposite direction.

I have significant experience in navigating Luxembourg’s traffic jams and I have the impression that these behaviours are becoming more and more common.

Why would people act like this? I am neither a psychologist nor a traffic specialist, and there are certainly several causes to explain this type of driving, but I will cite a few reasons I feel could be true:

• Drivers who feel restricted in their freedom to drive react based on emotions
• Drivers’ motivation to immediately restore that freedom, whatever the cost may be
• The feeling of being invulnerable
• The total lack of control and awareness about potential consequences.

The first is certainly linked to the pressure and stress of everyday life. The second is also linked to this, and is reinforced by a society where desires must be satisfied and rewarded immediately. Technology also caters to these desires. The third is the result of a society in which people do not consider themselves to be responsible for risks and consequences, and instead project them onto others. Finally, the fourth reason is that we hardly ever see police officers in everyday traffic and that speed cameras, which save lives, are frowned upon, so there is little fear of consequences for dangerous behaviour.

The first three causes are difficult to address, except by constantly pointing out the risks and consequences. The last one is easier and more effective to address. When rules are not enforced and respected, anarchy and the law of the individual prevail. If we want to avoid the worst, we need more controls and speed cameras on the roads, starting now!