A Clear and Present Danger
I read an article last night about a study done by a university professor in New Zealand. His findings appeared in a specialist journal called Injury Prevention. The study drew a parallel between the body count from international terrorism and deaths from road accidents in developed nations.
He pointed out that in 2001, as many people died every 26 days on U.S. roads as died in the terrorist attacks on 9-11. He says that the body count on the roads of developed economies overall is 390 times that from terrorist acts. In his summary, he suggested that governments be aware of these figures when allocating resources to preventing these two avoidable causes of mortality.
The story hit home for me because earlier in the day I had been driving back from Jennings on I-10. Cruising in the right lane at the speed limit, I was approaching an 18-wheeler which was driving below the speed limit in the left (passing) lane. As I was about a couple car-lengths behind it, a brand-new '06 Honda Civic with dealer tags zoomed up in the left lane and cut....not in front of me...but right into me. I swerved and honked, which would normally have sent any sane driver back into his lane. But, he kept on coming at me, insisting on driving in the same space in which I was driving.
I must confess that given the fact that I was driving my venerable old 1987 Volvo and he was driving a shiny new Civic, for a fleeting nanosecond I was tempted to let him go ahead and try to accomplish that impossible feat. But, of course, you can't fight stupidity with stupidity and so I continued swerving onto the shoulder so that he wouldn't hit me and cause an accident which would no doubt draw other innocent drivers into the wreck this moron was about to cause.
In the past few days, I've been witness to other acts of Road Idiocy. All were purely the result of aggressive driving, inattention, improper vehicle operation, excess testosterone, not driving to road or weather conditions, or retaliation by an enraged driver who had responded stupidly to other stupid drivers.
I especially worry about drivers who run stop signs and red lights. Increasingly, I've seen such occurrences not just when the light is "pink" (about to change), but when it is firmly red. It would be easy to chalk it all off to driver inattention, but in at least two cases, I've paused at an intersection when I saw a car coming that didn't look like it had any intention of stopping, and the driver zoomed through the intersection with his/her eyes glued on the road ahead. They knew darned well what they were doing and did it anyway. Bottom line is...I never trust stop signs or traffic signals anymore. If I'm approaching an intersection, I'll slow down until I'm convinced no one is gonna broadside me.
Cars entering highways are another pet peeve of mine. The proper way to enter a highway is to use your turn signal, gain cruising speed on the entrance ramp, yield to vehicles on the roadway, and merge safely with traffic. Unfortunately, that's not the way it's done in the land of pickup trucks and SUV's. Here entering a highway seems to be a test of wills, a measure of virility, and an ever-present invitation to disaster.
Add alcohol, and you've got the perfect recipe for hometown terrorism at the hands of our own neighbors. KPLC's covered way too many accidents over the course of the years which have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people and destroyed families, right here in SWLA. In almost every case, you can't really call it an accident. It was caused by some nut holding the steering wheel.
The problem seems to get worse during the holidays. Maybe that's because this time of year which is supposed to be a season of joy has also become a season of stress for many people.
Now, no one who reads this blog is part of the problem. We are all thoughtful, caring, giving, attentive and intelligent people. So while you and I can't do anything about idiots like my friend driving that new Civic or that long-haul driver going 50 in the passing lane, there are ways to make sure we and the loved ones who ride with us in our cars and trucks don't have to be scraped off of I-10 or Ryan Street with a shovel.
Drive defensively this holiday season and always. Pay attention to the traffic around you. Assume that someone's going to run that stop sign or traffic signal in front of you (broadside accidents are far more common than head-ons, and highly likely to cause injury or death). Watch for lane-switchers and morons entering highways. Try not to drive in packs...keep an appropriate distance between you and other vehicles when feasible.
Of course, make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled in. Use children's seats when appropriate, and when you do, secure them along with your child according to your child's height and weight. and for God's sake, don't drink and drive. By the way, if you are the type who routinely speeds through residential areas where kids play, I suspect there's a special place in hell just for you.
So as our nation's leaders grapple with the real problem of preventing more acts of terrorism, let's each pledge to begin preventing the even more real and present danger that faces each of us every day.
The definition of a crazy person is one who repeatedly does things the same way and expects a different result. If we don't do something to solve the growing crisis on SWLA's streets and highways, we're going to continue seeing our families, friends and neighbors die needlessly at the hands of the roadway terrorists in our midst.
He pointed out that in 2001, as many people died every 26 days on U.S. roads as died in the terrorist attacks on 9-11. He says that the body count on the roads of developed economies overall is 390 times that from terrorist acts. In his summary, he suggested that governments be aware of these figures when allocating resources to preventing these two avoidable causes of mortality.
The story hit home for me because earlier in the day I had been driving back from Jennings on I-10. Cruising in the right lane at the speed limit, I was approaching an 18-wheeler which was driving below the speed limit in the left (passing) lane. As I was about a couple car-lengths behind it, a brand-new '06 Honda Civic with dealer tags zoomed up in the left lane and cut....not in front of me...but right into me. I swerved and honked, which would normally have sent any sane driver back into his lane. But, he kept on coming at me, insisting on driving in the same space in which I was driving.
I must confess that given the fact that I was driving my venerable old 1987 Volvo and he was driving a shiny new Civic, for a fleeting nanosecond I was tempted to let him go ahead and try to accomplish that impossible feat. But, of course, you can't fight stupidity with stupidity and so I continued swerving onto the shoulder so that he wouldn't hit me and cause an accident which would no doubt draw other innocent drivers into the wreck this moron was about to cause.
In the past few days, I've been witness to other acts of Road Idiocy. All were purely the result of aggressive driving, inattention, improper vehicle operation, excess testosterone, not driving to road or weather conditions, or retaliation by an enraged driver who had responded stupidly to other stupid drivers.
I especially worry about drivers who run stop signs and red lights. Increasingly, I've seen such occurrences not just when the light is "pink" (about to change), but when it is firmly red. It would be easy to chalk it all off to driver inattention, but in at least two cases, I've paused at an intersection when I saw a car coming that didn't look like it had any intention of stopping, and the driver zoomed through the intersection with his/her eyes glued on the road ahead. They knew darned well what they were doing and did it anyway. Bottom line is...I never trust stop signs or traffic signals anymore. If I'm approaching an intersection, I'll slow down until I'm convinced no one is gonna broadside me.
Cars entering highways are another pet peeve of mine. The proper way to enter a highway is to use your turn signal, gain cruising speed on the entrance ramp, yield to vehicles on the roadway, and merge safely with traffic. Unfortunately, that's not the way it's done in the land of pickup trucks and SUV's. Here entering a highway seems to be a test of wills, a measure of virility, and an ever-present invitation to disaster.
Add alcohol, and you've got the perfect recipe for hometown terrorism at the hands of our own neighbors. KPLC's covered way too many accidents over the course of the years which have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people and destroyed families, right here in SWLA. In almost every case, you can't really call it an accident. It was caused by some nut holding the steering wheel.
The problem seems to get worse during the holidays. Maybe that's because this time of year which is supposed to be a season of joy has also become a season of stress for many people.
Now, no one who reads this blog is part of the problem. We are all thoughtful, caring, giving, attentive and intelligent people. So while you and I can't do anything about idiots like my friend driving that new Civic or that long-haul driver going 50 in the passing lane, there are ways to make sure we and the loved ones who ride with us in our cars and trucks don't have to be scraped off of I-10 or Ryan Street with a shovel.
Drive defensively this holiday season and always. Pay attention to the traffic around you. Assume that someone's going to run that stop sign or traffic signal in front of you (broadside accidents are far more common than head-ons, and highly likely to cause injury or death). Watch for lane-switchers and morons entering highways. Try not to drive in packs...keep an appropriate distance between you and other vehicles when feasible.
Of course, make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled in. Use children's seats when appropriate, and when you do, secure them along with your child according to your child's height and weight. and for God's sake, don't drink and drive. By the way, if you are the type who routinely speeds through residential areas where kids play, I suspect there's a special place in hell just for you.
So as our nation's leaders grapple with the real problem of preventing more acts of terrorism, let's each pledge to begin preventing the even more real and present danger that faces each of us every day.
The definition of a crazy person is one who repeatedly does things the same way and expects a different result. If we don't do something to solve the growing crisis on SWLA's streets and highways, we're going to continue seeing our families, friends and neighbors die needlessly at the hands of the roadway terrorists in our midst.
posted by Jim Serra at 12/01/2005 12:30:00 PM
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