Slow down for a safe summer

With solstice approaching, many of us are running outdoors at full tilt. Accidents are bound to happen. I’m writing this to remind us all — myself included — of the need to slow down and think straight, despite the Alaska midnight sun telling us otherwise.

We have so much activity jammed into the fleeting months of good weather. Several road projects around the Mat-Su — including Trunk Road, Seward Meridian and Settler’s Bay, among others — have roadside crews and heavy equipment we need to be mindful of when we drive by.

Let’s all practice patience and not dash out the door, but leave a little early for events. It’s hard to remember leaving early in broad daylight, but it’s needed at a time when detours are up.

The RVs have arrived. Many are visitors who don’t know our roads. Let’s be respectful with these tourists and allow them some room to maneuver. We want them to return and remember the Mat-Su as a welcoming place. They’re already feeling the stress of driving a big rig. Let’s ease up on any judgment while at their bumper.

ATVs and off-road vehicles of all sorts are riding alongside our roadways. Please remind your children or young adults of the golden rules of safety:

• A helmet is the single most important piece of protective gear an ATV rider can wear.

• Please don’t carry a passenger on a single-rider ATV, and no more than one passenger on an ATV specifically designed for two people.

• Driving at a safe speed for the conditions is paramount.

Some reputable outfits teach courses locally, such as the ATV Safety Institute at atvsafety.org. Please talk with your family about ATV safety. Learn what your children know. Check their gear.

Our rivers can be fast, our lakes cold. Life vests should be as much a routine as a car seat belt when getting into any craft on the water.

Excellent swimming skills cannot always compete with snowmelt temperatures and hypothermia. Remember the vest. Don’t take your eyes off the young kids around water.

The mountains are calling, but many of us have been sedentary through winter. Make your first hikes easy ones to warm up the heart and muscles.

I hope to join you in such a cautious, yet rich, life. More than once my cows have cleaned their hooves on me as they made for the door.

Larry DeVilbiss has been mayor of the Mat-Su Borough since January 2011.