Thank you, Mr. Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy — sorry, I didn't get your name — for pulling me over last Thursday morning. And thank you for just giving me a warning. Believe me, it has stuck in my head.

Yes, for just the second time in my driving life, which is pretty short compared with other people since I didn't get my license until I was 33, I got pulled over by the law for exceeding the speed limit. And luckily, both times I got the proverbial "slap on the wrist."

But I have been thinking all week about what I did and, even though I was going downhill when the radar clocked me exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph, I could have caused an accident. And perhaps a fatal one at that.

Area traffic has been heavy this summer and there have been accidents caused by excessive speed. We all need to slow down on the roads; especially next week, we need to slow down and be more observant as schools will be opening and there will be more children out and about – walking or riding their bikes to and from school, waiting at the bus stop, walking to the YMCA or stores after school, and there will be more cars picking students up or dropping them off at school. Also, be observant in the morning and afternoon as kids get on the bus or get off the bus. And don’t pass a school bus with its STOP sign out and its lights flashing.

As the National Safety Council says in its article “Slow Down: Back to School Means Sharing the Road” — “Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks.”

Stay off the cell phones while driving, and students, get to your destination safely by putting your cell phones down, and watch for traffic, when crossing streets. This is one of the new hazards of the times.

We would hate to report a tragedy in these pages, so slow down. Life is not a race, it’s a journey.