COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:

I’ve been reading with interest the recent Glendale News-Press articles and letters regarding traffic safety in Glendale and preventive actions recommended by concerned Glendale residents.

Let me first say that I feel particularly qualified to comment on this issue because of a recent motorcycle accident that almost killed me. On a sunny afternoon, Oct. 25, I was enjoying my recently acquired cruiser motorcycle in the Montrose area of Glendale. A driver didn’t see me coming from the opposite direction and made a sudden left turn in front of me, crossing a double solid line.

Rather than hit her car and fly over, I laid the motorcycle down and skidded partly under her car. This fractured and displaced both of my arms and foot. I was hospitalized for 11 days and suffered intense pain.

Today, five months after that dreadful day, my left arm and foot still hurt, and I have a metal retainer in my left arm that needs to be removed. While I suffered tremendous pain, I feel grateful for being alive and not paralyzed.

The person who caused my accident was not a young male driver speeding in a late-model luxury car living in Glendale. She was a 55-year-old Irish-American driving a 6-year-old SUV living in Eagle Rock.

She was a nice person who sent me flowers at the hospital and a get-well card stating that she was praying for me at the Catholic cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.

Based upon the characteristic of the driver in my accident, I am particularly troubled by some of the assumptions made by letter writers, stereotyping reckless drivers as being young, male, late-model luxury car drivers (“Reckless drivers should pay more dearly,” Community Commentary, Feb. 7).

I consider this a code word for “young Armenian-American men.” One recent writer considers “careless” or “distracted” drivers as “reckless” and wants their driver’s licenses to be suspended and cars to be impounded (“Note to city: Driving is a privilege, not a right,” Mailbag, Feb. 27).

Other writers often refer to the recent Allstate study that categorizes drivers in Glendale as unsafe. I don’t believe the study refers to Glendale residents versus the millions of non-residents who drive in Glendale to shop or work.

Allstate Insurance probably used as the basis of its study accidents occurring in Glendale and causing it insurance money payments.

I still feel the physical pain caused by a negligent driver. However, I am hopeful that solutions offered to prevent negligent driving are based on driving habits rather than focusing on age, ethnicity and gender of drivers.

This is particularly important during election debates, when candidates may use traffic safety issues against each other.

Years ago, a traffic school instructor told me that the average Californian violates traffic laws 80 times per day, mostly harmless violations relating to non-reckless speeding, signaling and incomplete stops.

If we were to punish all these violators, we would have everyone’s licenses suspended and cars impounded.

Let’s not overreact over drivers in Glendale and place our drivers as being representative of drivers all over California.

 ARAM BARSOUMIAN is a Glendale resident.