Motorists should be cooperative, not competitive

To the editor:

I was disturbed by the account of the woman who said she was assaulted on William Street by another driver.

Driving should be a cooperative effort, not a competition. If we drivers strive to cooperate with our fellow drivers instead of competing with them, surely damages to our vehicles and injuries to our bodies would diminish. That seems so obvious. I wonder why it took me 71 years to figure it out.

A few months ago I approach-ed the bridge from the Illinois side. A long line of cars was waiting to cross the bridge because of construction. A car approached from the side road to my right. I waved the driver in ahead of me. You should have seen his smile and wave of gratitude. The driver behind me began honking his horn intermittently and continued until we were almost on the bridge. Obviously, he disapproved of letting in the other driver.

I was saddened to note in my rearview mirror that the driver behind me had children in his car who were witnessing his intemperate behavior. What kind of values did he instill in these future drivers by his rude behavior?

DON BOYD

Cape Girardeau