Dear TRENDS Diary,
Recent interest in alternatives to traditional approaches to community safety has reminded me of my own experience as a young psychologist many years ago.
The memory doesn’t start out well. I was an inexperienced driver (I’m from NY) heading to a Weld County property I had just decided to rent for a short-lived experiment in country living before returning to Boulder for good. I knew I wanted to move there, but I didn’t know how to get there. After an ill-fated attempt at a left turn, I tried to rejoin traffic—only to sideswipe another car, which then landed in a ditch by the road.
Fortunately, the driver was alright, if a bit shaken up. We called the authorities and then waited…and waited. Although the other driver and I managed to chat cordially, we were eager to get on with our day.