By Travis Fortounas
Staff Writer
Hello students, in today’s commuter column I will discuss the dangers of the roads. Every-thing from patrolling police, road closings and weather warnings are all possible delays when making your way to campus in the morning.
The number one delay that I am faced with a few times a week is car accidents on the Long Island Expressway. These accidents cause delays and shutdowns when traveling to school, forcing me to navigate through back roads I am unfamiliar with. Leaving yourself an extra 30 minutes in the morning to get to school is key when commuting. I like to call this buffer time.
When facing inclement weather, it is very important to leave yourself more than 40 minutes of buffer time to commute. The weather slows down every person on the road. I have found myself going just above 20 mph on a main road while driving in the rain because of the danger of hydroplaning.
Take your time to get to school by being cautious on the road, your professors can be very understanding when it comes to bad weather on the highways.
Another concern to address are other drivers on the road. Sometimes during an accident, drivers will slow down to see what happened instead of focusing on their commute. This term is defined as rubbernecking.
Rubbernecking has caused me up to 20 minutes in delays multiple times throughout my college career. Despite the missed time, I can safely say that commuting has given me more patience when traveling to school.
A serious concern is speeding, and this is for students who wake up late and try to rush to campus. My message to you is SLOW DOWN! Police in Suffolk and Nassau Counties are strict, and become even more relentless when you enter the Village of Brookville. I have seen cops parked in the woods, under bridges and even on top of bridges looking for speeders.
Getting ticketed on Long Island can result in a fine up to $200 and can leave up to two points on your driver’s license. Speeding is not worth the risk. Not only are you putting yourself in danger, you endanger others on the road as well.
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