Racing to work not worth the risk Published May 28, 2013 By Master Sgt. Shawn Reynolds 514th Operations Group JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- I live in the local area, and I'd say most of the morning traffic going past my house is headed toward the base, and many of the drivers are aggressively speeding. I'm no saint. I often drive five mph over the speed limit. Nevertheless, it's seldom that I don't end up with someone on my bumper because they feel that I'm not driving fast enough. Every morning, I have to ask myself, "why is everyone in such a hurry to get to work?" The defense access road feels like it has become a section of the Daytona Speedway. Even when I let my speed creep up a little higher, I still have cars riding my bumper or passing me at a good clip. The gate is only a couple more miles away. "Oh my, you beat me to the gate! Good for you! You won the blue ribbon! " I didn't even know there was a race. I was just going to work! Maybe they just love their jobs so much that they feel the need to get there as fast as they can. I'm not saying I don't enjoy my job. I probably have one of the best jobs on base, but I'm not rushing to get there every day. Are they sleeping in or running late for a meeting? Whatever the reason, why does it always lead to the person that is driving in front of them that's the problem? The speed limit is not the bumper of the vehicle in front of you. Weren't we all taught the two-second rule when following another vehicle? The funny thing is that I see the same vehicles doing the same thing every morning. To those drivers, I say set two alarms or set your alarm ten minutes earlier. The extra sleep won't make that much difference in your day, but it will make you rush, which puts everyone else around you in danger. And is it really worth pissing off fellow military members just to beat them through the gate? We've lost Airmen to aggressive driving in the past, and I doubt the value of arriving to work a few minutes early for these speeders is worth someone showing up at their house to inform their families they won't be making the ride home. Many will say, "It won't happen to me," but the more someone drives aggressively, the more the odds increase that something tragic will happen. So next time you're on your way to work, ask yourself "Where am I going, and is it really worth getting there a few minutes earlier?"