Traffic Tip Tuesday 07-19-16
From the pristine, crystal clear waters of the Weeki Wachee River, to the wild, natural beauty of the Withlacoochee River, we are blessed to have some appealing natural resources in our community. The journey to these destinations isn’t always so alluring thanks to litter. As a whole, our community is clean and well kept, but litter always seems to show up. Litter can manifest in many forms, from a cigarette butt or a cheeseburger wrapper, to a vehicle component abandoned by its host. Litter can become dangerous when in the roadway, and has been a contributing factor in many crashes throughout the country.
I’d like to believe that most people don’t intentionally litter. Debris falling from a vehicle during loading or unloading, or unsecured trash flying out of a truck bed are prime examples. Although not an excuse, people think that littering is someone else’s problem. In reality we all pay for littering. That’s right, even when able to utilize an inmate workforce, our tax dollars are used to pay for roadway cleanup.
Steps that we can take to reduce litter on our roadways:
Don’t throw trash out the window. Hopefully that one was obvious.
Keep a trash bag in your vehicle. Use it.
Secure trash and other debris from blowing out of the bed of your truck.
If you see trash, pick it up. Nature and the community will thank you.
Litter is not only distracting to the public, but it adversely affects the safety of animals, drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. It’s also illegal, punishable with a fine or arrest, depending on the circumstances. Let’s do the right thing and leave our county’s guests with memories of a clean, litter free environment.
