Dear Editor,
I constantly write about the consequences of the irresponsible use of the cell phone, especially in traffic, whether driving a vehicle or crossing the road. Even though there are laws forbidding a certain use of the cellphone, those who can help temper the illegal use of the phone are not doing anything about it.
In my opinion it is a worse addiction than drinking or smoking, because one is hooked without being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Even the risk of crossing a busy road is ignored by those while texting. Not to forget those who strike a pose while talking on the phone behind the wheel of the car or not paying attention at intersections.
Self-imposed abbreviations have become a norm in text messages and are even accepted in official correspondence, so I am not sure whether your readers will give a second thought to the “true” which is written in that [picture of a traffic diversion sign –Ed.]. I believe they will react to according to the way how “true” sounds, means to them.
What I know is that those signs were not hand-painted, so whoever had those signs printed should have had the discipline to make sure that the correct language was used. Beside that, should not there be someone to control whether the correct signage is used at the site of such a big project with several traffic diversions?
We are still not sure whether the intention is for no traffic to go beyond that so-called barricade or whether it is forbidden for “real” traffic to go beyond that barricade.
What I do know is that the people who I hear supervising those works primarily speak Dutch to each other. Those who of late are constantly paying attention to the wrong that we are doing. Which brings me to what I was taught from child in school: “Verbeter de wereld, begin met jezelf.” I also believe that if one’s motto is “I will get you one day” one should be fair and be man enough to accept “Wie kaatst moet de bal verwachten.”
On the other hand, I believe that in this case, VROMI personnel have shown halfhearted behavior. Let us not omit the importance of being professional.
Russell A. Simmons
