I’ve seen it many times and have been the victim of it twice: people in Lubbock turning very fast and very wide onto a residential street. A car I had parked legally in front of my house was hit twice this way. Now, LBK Scanner Squad is trying to help a car owner locate the person who did that to them and ran.

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Why Are Drivers Turning So Fast And Wide?

They could be reckless, tired, drunk, or just dumb, but the primary reason is that they are turning off of a major road onto a residential street.  It astounds me that my car was hit by people making left turns onto the street, meaning they didn’t slow down very much or at all before turning left a few lanes away.

We have turning lanes everywhere, which allow you to slow down or even stop before turning left onto a much narrower road with a much lower speed limit. There is simply no reason to “gun it” left; if you are cutting it that close with oncoming traffic, then you will eventually get T-boned, and you very well may kill your passenger or the person who hits you head-on.

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 LBK Scanner Squad Looks For A Hit And Run

Luckily for me, both people who hit me were honest enough to stop and give me their insurance information- a process that has lasted months for me to get both payouts due to the complication of being hit again before the first payout was made. I am very grateful both parties did the right thing, for both myself and for them- getting caught for a hit-and-run can lead to serious consequences, and you bet I would have been looking for them.

In a recent post (see it here), a Lubbock person shares footage of their car being hit by a vehicle making a too-fast and too-wide turn on 44th & York. Unfortunately, this person was dishonest (or drunk) and continued driving. I hope they are able to locate the responsible party and/or have uninsured motorist insurance to cover the damages.

We Can All Do Better

I get it- we are tired, in a hurry, stressed, distracted, etc. However, driving, especially while doing riskier maneuvers like turning left, is a time to perk up and pay attention. Causing an accident is no fun, and hurting someone will haunt you forever. Some accidents are unavoidable, but we can all do a little better to help prevent them.

Lubbock Crime Rates vs. Surrounding Areas: Which Cities Are Safest?Think of moving slightly out of Lubbock? This is how our surrounding areas compare to Lubbock crime rates, according to crimegrade.org, which looks at both property and violent crime in its rankings. Spoiler alert: they are all at least marginally safer (or significantly safer), as Lubbock carries a D- rating.

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven