I am writing in response to the Sign Language editorial that appeared in Monday’s Daily Egyptian. The editorial was not only needlessly emotional but it missed the real issue altogether.

I have been a volunteer firefighter for nearly 10 years, and I was one of the emergency services workers called to the intersection of U.S. 51 and Makanda (Presley Tour) Road. For me, this was just one more unfortunate accident I had to attend I’ve lost count of how many I’ve been to this year. Jackson County has more than its fair share of fatal accidents. That young people were killed this time doesn’t make this accident any more special, and it doesn’t give people the right to blame the Illinois Department of Transportation for a driver’s mistake.

The DE editorial makes the Makanda intersection sound like a death trap and insinuates IDOT is not negligent but uncaring because it refuses to erect warning signs. This is not a case of economics where some bean counter in Springfield is saying a human life is not worth the price of a warning sign. Rather, the issue here is about driver behavior and competence.

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The majority of motor vehicle accidents can be attributed to factors such as alcohol, speeding, carelessness and the driver’s lack of experience. While placing a caution sign at the intersection might get people’s attention for a few weeks, the positive effects would soon wear off. If IDOT were to install warning signs at the scene of every serious accident, our highways would light up like a disco. The fact is that warning signs don’t help when drivers fail to yield the right of way or when they speed or drink and drive. The Makanda accident was the result of one person choosing to pull into oncoming traffic and nothing more.

Maybe I should show the gory video I shot at the accident scene to the students where the victims attended school. It would probably have a bigger impact on their driving behavior than any warning signs.

Makanda Township Fire Department