Driving is a job — a deadly serious one

Ask around and most workers will tell you they've got a tough job.

But most workers don't worry, while they're pulling down a paycheck, about getting run over by a 4,000-pound chunk of metal moving at 70 mph.

Now that's tough.

And that fear is an unavoidable fact for the people who strive to smooth our roads.

Drivers, though, could allay road-workers' concerns at least a little by reminding themselves, often, that what they're piloting down the freeway isn't just an Accord or an Explorer or a Cavalier.

It's a weapon.

A potentially deadly weapon.

An especially apt time to remind yourself of this is when you roll past one of those "Road Construction Ahead" signs. You know the ones — big orange rectangles with black letters.

ODOT helpfully posts these signs at least a mile before you reach the place where people are working, sometimes just a couple feet on the other side of the white line.

That ought to give any driver time to accomplish any, or all, of the following:

n Click the cell phone closed

n Slip the soda bottle into a cupholder, or, if a cupholder is not available, toss the bottle onto the floor

n Shut off the cruise control

To sum it up: Drive.

That's all. Just drive.

After you've turned on the engine, that's your job — your only job until you twist the key to the "off" position.

And road-workers would add: Do your job carefully.

So what if the burger you were munching isn't piping hot any more.

A lukewarm meal will go down much easier than a conviction for manslaughter.