Editorial: Please, be careful on our roadways

In the past two weeks, we have published too many stories about too many crashes occurring in Hastings. We are hoping we don’t have any more to report as people hit the roadways for the holiday.

On Monday, for example, there were five crashes over about an hour. Frosty roads were slick, and drivers were sliding off right and left. Two weeks ago, there were crashes on Highway 61, on Highway 55 and County Road 46.

While slippery roads contributed to the crashes, so did drivers. At one point, we referred to all these incidents as accidents, but a wise Dakota County Deputy once told us that term is misleading.

An accident is something that is unforeseen with a “lack of intention.” The deputy argued that by driving 65 mph on a slippery road, the term accident shouldn’t apply. His point was that you can hardly call something an accident when people are outdriving road conditions.

Tags: opinion, hastings, editorials, minnesota, spiral