Breaking traffic laws not worth the risks

By Lethbridge Herald on July 31, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

My mind was blown while taking pictures at the intersection of Scenic Drive and 5 Avenue South on Wednesday morning. 

After a no U-turn sign was added alongside the northbound lane of Scenic Drive and posts were made by Lethbridge Police Service on social media to remind motorist to follow the rules of the road during construction on Whoop Up Drive, multiple motorists performed illegal U-turns right in front of me and another reporter taking video. 

The careless expression of those motorist faces when caught on camera is what blew my mind the most. Purposely breaking the law in front of a sign and in front of two reporters almost made my jaw hit the floor. 

How impatient does someone have to be, to prefer to break the law instead of taking an extra 30 seconds to go around the road in front of the Galt Museum, to legally turn around and reach the set of lights that allows them to turn right and continue down the ramp to reach Whoop-Up Drive? 

Also, there are detour signs on that same intersection on the northbound lane to divert traffic towards 6 Ave South to be able to reach Whoop Up drive. Both options do not add more than an extra couple of minutes to the commute, and yet some people rather break the law and perform illegal U-turns. 

I live on the west side and work in downtown, just like many other people and I have taken all the various ways into the west side since construction started, and I can confidently say that it doesn’t take that much longer than before. People just have to be patient, drive slowly and follow the rules more than ever as workers are present. 

Which takes me to the other mind-blowing incident I witnessed on Wednesday. As a construction worker was jack hammering concrete on the bridge along Whoop Up Drive, multiple vehicles drove past him just inches away from him. He was only “protected” by a small traffic cone from oncoming traffic and even though many made the effort to drive as close to the concrete barriers as possible, many didn’t and drove like nothing was happening and nobody was there other than the traffic cone. 

It blows my mind that people are so careless when it comes to other people’s lives. Those construction workers have families and friends who are expecting them home at the end of their shift, their lives are precious and yet some people drive through the construction zone like they do not even exist. 

Why can’t people obey traffic laws without the need of a police officer enforcing the law? Is it really that hard to have empathy for others and slow down while they work to make our roads better and in turn our commute home safer? 

Traffic laws are there for a reason, to keep everyone on the road safe. So please, take the time to follow the law and stop putting yours and other lives at risk just because you need to be somewhere. 

And at the end of the day, if an accident takes place on Whoop Up Drive or at that intersection, the commute will take even longer for everyone and those couple of minutes “saved” by performing an illegal U-turn will be wasted.