Letter: Why so many accidents on Hendersonville Road?

In these times of devastation and loss due to Hurricane Helene, it seems trivial to complain about traffic, but since I also suffered loss, I feel that it’s OK to kvetch about whatever I feel like kvetching about. I believe that the situation on Hendersonville Road is worthy of discussion, even if no solution seems to be inevitable.

I live in Arden and have traveled on Hendersonville Road numerous times to get where I want to go. I have lived here for 15 years. Before I moved here, I had lived in Detroit, Houston, San Jose and central New Jersey. In all my years, and I am a senior, I have never seen so many car accidents as I have seen on Hendersonville Road. In my estimation, there have been at least four or five accidents every year, if not more, that I have been aware of. In the other places that I have lived, I would say perhaps I had seen one or two accidents a year, if that.

I have tried to figure out what the cause of these accidents has been. Is it old people who have lost their ability to pay attention with the increase in traffic? Is it people who are texting on their phones while driving? Is it tourists who have lost their way or can’t find what they’re looking for? Is it young people who are impatient and impulsively jumping in front of cars? I truly don’t have the answer.

However, it might be the middle lane that could be the culprit. You have people coming in from one side and others coming in from the other side to make a left turn. It’s like an accident waiting to happen. You’re supposed to signal to enter that lane and then enter when it’s safe. Then you should signal and then wait until traffic is clear before moving into the next lane. Some people ride along the lane. Some people go all the way from the middle and shoot across both lanes to exit, causing you to slam on your brakes if you’re lucky enough not to hit them.

Once there’s an accident, all traffic comes to a halt. Then there’s the police, sometimes an ambulance and sometimes a fire truck. Sometimes there are all of them. Traffic also stops when someone is working on the lights or the road. When Hendersonville Road comes to a halt, it also has an impact on Sweeten Creek Road. Sometimes it’s so bad I am prevented from just getting out of my house and going somewhere. It also doesn’t help that so many more cars are on the road because of the excessive building of apartments and hotels in the area. It seems that the solution to one problem has created another.

Another pet peeve of mine is when you have a left turn arrow, but it doesn’t turn green. All you get is a blinking yellow, forcing you to sit and wait until the traffic clears to make a turn. Why put in a left turn signal if you can’t use it to make a turn? Another thing that people do here that I have never seen before is stop in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. If you’re lost, get off the road and pull over into a parking lot until you can figure it out or go to a nearby store to ask for directions. Yet another thing that people do here is drive below the speed limit. I know people will say that people also speed, but from my experience, they tend to go below the limit more often than over it.

I wish someone would come up with an actual solution to all this, but in the meantime, despite it all, I still love Asheville. So try to keep your cool. When someone drives crazy, I just call them a snickerdoodle. It’s hard to stay mad at someone if you call them a snickerdoodle. Have a safe and pleasant journey, y’all!

— Ilene Logelin
Arden