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When I used to work at a cotton gin, one of my responsibilities was weighing the trucks that came in and out. They would drive onto the scale, I’d punch the ticket, and then they’d go load or unload their truck.

We weighed the module trucks that came to drop off cotton modules during ginning season. We weighed trucks that hauled peanuts to be stored in our warehouse. We weighed trucks that picked up cotton bales after they’d been ginned. We weighed dump trucks of soybeans before they were dropped off in our storage bins. And we weighed trucks that came to pick up a load of cottonseed.

What I learned from all that work is that a fully loaded truck isn’t supposed to be over 80,000 pounds. For the cottonseed in particular, sometimes they’d end up overloaded or underloaded and have to go back to adjust the amount in the trailer.

That’s a mind-boggling amount of weight, in my opinion. But even the unloaded trucks were still ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 pounds, which is no small amount to sneeze at either.

Other vehicles on the road can be quite heavy too. Depending on the size and type, school buses can range from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds. Pickup trucks can range anywhere from 4,000 to 7,000 pounds. On average, cars can weigh anywhere from 2,500 to 4,200 pounds.

I couldn’t find any reliable specifics for tractor weights, but I can imagine they’re pretty hefty too. I would guess perhaps the equivalent of a school bus or 18-wheeler, depending on the kind of tractor.

Now imagine all of these heavy vehicles speeding down the road. That’s a lot of weight to be responsible for. Any sort of collision or crash is going to cause a lot of damage – to other vehicles, to property, and often, to people themselves.

This is why I want to frequently remind people to drive more safely on the roads! I know I’ve written about this topic several times before, but it’s something I feel very strongly about. I spend a lot of time on the road, after all. Many of us do since driving is the only transportation available here in our rural area. Not many people around here can walk to work or school or the grocery store.

Just recently, I was driving on Highway 11 between Ahoskie and Murfreesboro when I got stuck at the end of a line of slower-moving vehicles. I wasn’t in any particular hurry, so I didn’t mind slowing down a bit. (We were all going probably around 50 miles per hour, so it really wasn’t even that slow.) I just kept driving and enjoying the music I was listening to.

The pickup truck in front of me, however, seemed much more impatient. They kept drifting over the center line, as if about to attempt to pass the five or six cars in front of them.

I slowed down a bit more just because I don’t like my car being close to an erratic driver.

Eventually, the driver made the decision to pass all those cars at once, and again, I slowed down more, since I was worried they were going to slam into oncoming traffic.

No crash happened, but the driver and any of the nearby cars could have easily been much more unlucky in that moment. It would have been better if they’d just waited a little longer for a safer opportunity to pass.

This is only one recent example. I could recount plenty more scenes of reckless driving I’ve witnessed over the years (red light runners, insane speeders, and people who really needed to put their phone down), but I only have so much space available in this section each week.

I’ll admit that I get frustrated stuck behind slow-moving traffic too sometimes because it keeps me from using my cruise control. But waiting a few extra seconds for a clear view to pass someone is better than realizing you’re driving straight towards another oncoming car.

Excessive speeding doesn’t help you arrive more quickly at your destination because you still have to stop at plenty of intersections along the way. And any notification you get on your phone can usually wait until you’ve reached your destination to respond.

I urge everyone to drive with safety in mind – no matter whether you’re traveling one mile or 100 miles.

Please wear a seatbelt, as a driver or as a passenger.

Please do not drink and drive. Call someone to pick you up or make plans to stay at your location.

Please turn on your headlights when it’s rainy or foggy. It not only helps improve your visibility but also makes it easier for other drivers on the road to see you.

Please make sure nothing’s coming when you attempt to pass a vehicle.

Please watch out for pedestrians. They have the right of way when crossing, so please slow down and wait for them to pass.

And please, just have some patience while driving. If you can’t, it’s probably just better for you to stay off the road altogether. We all want to make it to our destination safely. And no matter what we’re driving, we have a lot of weight to be responsible for – including the weight of people’s lives.

Holly Taylor is a staff writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7206.