THE PUBLIC MIND: WHAT HAPPENS TO ILLINOIS DRIVERS WHEN IN MISSOURI?

To the Editor:

Someone chose to make the following comment in the ~March 2, 1992, issue of ~Speak Out~~.

I would like to recommend that it be mandatory for all Illinois drivers to be given a driving test to drive in ~Missouri after they cross over the bridge. They should be tested on how blinkers work on their car and that the passing lane is not to be driven in 10 MPH below the posted speed limit. I realize there are a lot of Missouri drivers guilty of this; however, every tag I see is a white tag. Thank you.~~

Let me say that I have had a lot of experience driving in the state of Illinois, and have been frequently startled when the blinker has indicated an intention to turn right just prior to a sudden stop or a sharp left turn across traffic. What's the prudent driver supposed to do? Personally, I assume that a signal means the vehicle will probably do something and I exercise caution, especially in Illinois.

I agree that driving below the posted limit in the passing lane creates a hazard for everyone, for this is very frustrating to a person who is trying to get somewhere on time. Illinois drivers are prone to do this when they cross over into ~Missouri. I don't know why. ~~~Maybe they are overwhelmed by all of that city traffic. It could be that most of the Illinois people entering ~Missouri during daylight hours are retirees. They were probably taught to drive by their parents who, in those days, figured that all you needed to know in order to drive in ~Southeast ~Missouri were the terms ~~gee or haw~ and ~~whoa~ or gidyap. Times have changed; this condition hasn't existed in ~Missouri for many years. In fact, Cape Girardeau has become a cosmopolitan area. The trouble may be that the older generation of Illinoisans still carry memories of yesteryear, so they drive differently in Missouri.

As for the younger crowd, it seems obvious what must have happened. W~ith the advent of driver's education in the schools, the state has been able to mold the minds of its young charges. We realize that politicians and businessmen in Southern Illinois have long been jealous of the fabulous growth of greater Cape Girardeau. They hate to see all of that Illinois money being spent out-of-state. Is it possible that the Illinois school system might have eliminated the chapter on driving in Missouri from the driver's ed manual?

One may wonder what led me to write about this. It was simply a coincidence that the comment appeared in ~~Speak Out~ on the day when my wife had two appointments in ~Doctor's Park.

We arrived in Cape early enough to run some errands, stop by the service station where we get a free car wash, and a little fuel. We were just killing time, so we weren't perturbed when we found the pumps and the washing stall completely dominated by vehicles bearing white tags.

My wife wanted to stop by ~Schnuck's to pick up a few items. ~~We had to park way out near Long John Silver's because the lot was full of those infernal Illinois cars. Lucky for us that we had worn our walking shoes. ~As usual, we bought more than planned, but we have a large trunk.

Then we drove to the office where they take ~X-Rays, since my wife's physician wanted her to hand-carry them to his office for interpretation. To our chagrin, the parking lot was packed ~with Illinois cars, but we finally found a space. What was worse, we discovered that there were few seating choices in the waiting room. It appeared that everyone in ~Southern Illinois required an ~X-Ray at the same time. Fortunately, we knew a few patients and had a nice visit for almost an hour. ~W~ouldn't it be nice if there were an office such as this in Illinois. There wouldn't be all of this waiting at Doctor's Park. Health care should be more readily accessible.

After enduring the stress of waiting caused by the Illinois patients, we drove to our physician's office. It was so late in the day that the lot was only half full. This wasn't so bad, even if the Illinois tags were in the majority. There was only one other patient in the waiting room. This shouldn't have taken long, but it did because all of the examining rooms were occupied. ~We had to fidget in a cubby-hole for an interminable period, but were more than pleased with our doctor when he finally arrived. If it weren't for those infernal Illinoisans we might have finished much sooner.

W~est Park ~Mall is so convenient. We can't drive past it. My wife insisted that we look around. W~e didn't see many brown plates. Parking spaces were available among the white tags. There weren't many people stirring at that time, and we left the mall empty-handed. This had to be a first.

Since it was so late we figured that we might as well get something to eat. W~~hen we drove into the parking area it appeared that Illinois plates occupied the good spaces. However, when we got inside we didn't have to wait.

We like Cape Girardeau, even if it is choked by the influx of shoppers from Illinois.

My wife and I were feeling quite content as we drove south on ~Sprigg. ~~When we reached a traffic light there was a car with an Illinois dealers plate stopped at the intersection. ~We stopped immediately behind him. When the left-turn arrow turned green he just sat there until it was ready for the yellow caution, then he zoomed around the corner. W~e followed him through the yellow, down the street and over the bridge into Illinois. Within 30 minutes we had our white tags in the car port.

Once we had carried our purchases into the house we had time to think about the c~omment in ~Speak Out~. Whoever made it may have hit upon a plan to save the people of both states a lot of money. To be more effective, the Missouri driving test should be administered on the Illinois side by Missourians. If this will interrupt the flow of traffic from Illinois, then the existing bridge should prove to be more than adequate.

Ira Hudson

Mound City, Ill.