STEINBACH, MB
Under a new local graduated licensing program, Steinbach drivers will now be required to display a sign in the back windshield of their vehicles as a warning to other drivers. Local officials say the program will improve safety and reduce instances of road rage.
“Why isn’t that vehicle establishing himself in the intersection? Why is that minivan clogging up all the traffic in the left lane? Why is that pickup truck driving 20 in a 50 zone?” said Steinbach safety officer Dale Wheeler. “This sign will help answer those questions and alleviate some frustrations when people see it and realize, ‘Oh, hey, it’s a Steinbach driver out there. Go easy on them.'”
Steinbachers will also be required to have a competent driver who knows what they’re doing in the front passenger seat at all times.
“Whenever Martha and Abe want to take the ’95 Oldsmobile out for a spin, one of them is going to have to sit in the back, while your designated non-Steinbach driver accompanies you in the passenger seat,” explained Wheeler. “Steinbach drivers will also not be allowed to have passengers in their vehicle after eight at night.”
Local officials are not really too worried about night driving, however, as most Steinbachers are in bed by just after seven.
“The new signs will be in the mail this week, so I expect to see them prominently displayed in Steinbach vehicles this fall,” said Wheeler. “By the end of the year, we’re hoping that the new program will improve the driving skills of Steinbachers to such a degree that they’re only as bad as Winkler drivers.”
So far, Winkler drivers are not being required to display the sign, because they’re easy to identify already.
“You can spot them a mile away,” said Wheeler. “You just look for grey-haired couples taking it slow in the Walmart parking lot.”
The ‘Steinbach Driver’ signs are already popping up on vehicles across the city, but are most noticeable just after church on Sunday afternoons.