Friday, 20 May 2011

My son's first swear-word & Friday road idiots

For a Friday, today was quite typical. It will though now be remembered for the day my 4 year old son uttered his first swear-word - 'Shit'. There were witnesses to it - my mother-in-law and my wife heard him say it as he rolled about the floor in a small tent. He's managed to get himself stuck and out came the expletive. Now, I'm against bad language generally - especially where children are concerned - and I can only assume he's picked up this new word from playschool, for the language used by other children his age is really terrible. It's no great surprise when you meet some of the parents responsible for these little budding brain surgeons and airline pilots (not!) - they communicate only by shouting at the top of their voices and every other word is an expletive. You cannot blame the children when they are growing-up in this kind of environment and I shouldn't be surprised at all that my son has brought the word home with him. I'm actually quite resigned to the fact that his language will become more diverse and expletive ridden the older he gets. He knows what guns are for and associates them with instant death, as he demonstrates on his mother and father (and the dog) regularly. I suppose I don't really want him to grow-up. The world is just so full of nasty things and equally nasty people. I must face the fact that I can't protect him from everything...

I can guarantee at least one idiot every Friday evening flouting our road laws or endangering road users. This evening was no exception. Once again the new and clearly marked 50mph limit was ignored by two drivers who shot past me at 60-70mph, and once again I was nearly pushed off the road by some idiot who had no idea how to safely overtake. The standard of driving in this county has to be the worst I have ever seen, and possibly the worst in the UK. It's no wonder Lincolnshire has some of the highest incidents of road accidents and fatalities.
Enforcement is the answer and I don't think education is. Those breaking the law are young and education has either failed them or they simply can't be bothered. It's sad, but it's a fact. But all the while there are fewer and fewer police on our streets, they'll simply continue to get away with it. If you want people to drive according to the law, I'm afraid you have to make them.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Lynda Bellingham

I was shocked to hear of the passing of Lynda Bellingham on Sunday. I had known she was terminally ill, but I really thought, as did man...