Will you survive the Fourth of July driving our U.S. roads?

William Atkins
Thursday, 28 June 2007 03:39

Opinion and Analysis

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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 43,443 people died in this country from motor vehicle accidents in 2005.

In 2004, 42,836 people died in this country from motor vehicle accidents, along with the injury to 1,862,000 other individuals.

In 2003, 42,643 people died from motor-vehicle related accidents, with 25,136 dying from the result of road departures, 9,213 dying from intersection-related incidents, and 4,749 deaths from pedestrian incidents.

The annual figures grimly hover over 40,000 deaths each-and-every year. In addition, motor vehicle accidents cost more than $150 billion every year in medical, rehabilitation, and long-term care costs, lost productivity, lost tax revenue, property damage, and police, judicial, and social service costs.

I believe these figure are staggering!

What is worse is that we as a society accept this as part of our lives—and part of our deaths. In my estimation, we do not do nearly enough to prevent these deaths and injuries each year. Yes, we have improved the safety of motor vehicles immensely over the years. Yes, we have added laws, such as seatbelt laws, to reduce these deaths and injuries.

However, we still have, on average, over 40,000 deaths each and every year.

Just think of that number: each year—in the ten years from 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005—we have seen over 400,000 deaths from automobile incidents—the actual figure is 423,364.

What is even more staggering is that the average number of deaths each year—over 40,000—does not seem to be ending. They, no doubt, will continue to be over 40,000 when the 2006 figures are released and when these deaths happen in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and further into the future; that is, unless WE do something about it.

What makes it especially disgusting, in my opinion, is that the majority of these deaths and injuries could be prevented.

Most motor vehicle incidents are caused by excessive speeding, carelessness, impatience, illogical behavior, and driving under the influence of intoxicating substances such as alcohol and illegal drugs.

Many motor vehicle incidents are caused by the lack of common sense on the part of the drivers. For instance, some of the more common scenarios where common sense is not used is:

• failure to use turn signals to tell other drivers of impending lane changes or turns;
• driving too fast for existing conditions (say on wet roads or foggy atmospheric conditions);
• driving at excessive speeds compared to posted speed limits;
• tailgating (or, the following too close to the driver in front);
• driving without headlights on during inclement weather and during times near dusk and dawn.

In other instances, drivers further do not use common sense as they:

• use cell phones while driving;
• apply makeup while driving;
• shave while driving;
• read newspapers and books while driving;
• operate laptop computers while driving;

and many other distractions to the real task at hand: driving the motor vehicle.

All of these examples contribute to the number of deaths and injuries suffered on the U.S. roadways.

In addition, these motor vehicle incidents, in my opinion, are not really accidents because most of these incidents could be prevented. Since the definition of an "accident" is an event that happens completely by chance, with no planning or deliberate intent, I contend that these incidents do not happen completely by chance. Of course, they are not planned or deliberate in intent. However, by driving erratically, by driving without due caution to safety, motorists are increasing their chances of dying and being injured while driving.

Whatever they are called accidents or incidents, the result is the same: death or injury.

So how do we prevent motor vehicle incidents from claiming lives and injuring people?

I would like to suggest that local, state, and federal government agencies; non-governmental associations; automobile manufactures; and other motor vehicle-related organizations join together to EDUCATE all motorists and ENFORCE all driving laws.

We need to enforce the traffic laws currently in place.

I see more and more people blatantly ignoring the traffic laws implemented for our roads and byways. My observations tell me that the vast majority of the U.S. driving population drive over the posted interstate speed limits. In fact, if a driver would drive the speed limit, especially on a busy interstate, the driver would be tailgated, honked at, and actually become a safety hazard on the road.

Think about it: The maximum speed limit is now the minimum speed limit.

My observations tell me that driving about 70 to 72 miles per hour on an interstate with a posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour is a (very conservative) average speed for motorists. I would estimate that at least 50% of motorists regularly drive well over 72 mph.

I also see many drivers regularly tailgating the vehicle in front of them. I cringe every time I see six cars “drafting” off each other like NASCAR drivers do while racing around a racetrack. I can not understand why anybody would want to drive a few feet behind another vehicle while driving 80 mph—and then look in the rearview mirror and see another car equally close behind.

Law enforcement officials need to enforce driving laws more than they are currently doing. They also need to use modern methods to detect unlawful motorists. I cannot understand why police officers still sit in their cars and use radar guns to detect speeding motorists. I believe this is a very inefficient use of their time.

In addition, drivers see police cars stopped alongside the road, so automatically reduce their speeds until the police car is no longer seen, and then resume their fast speeds. Automatic sensors, cameras, and other high-technology devices are more efficient ways to detect speeding vehicles and to issue warnings and tickets.

Enforcing driving laws could also be very profitable to states because it is an easy way to generate income from existing laws while helping to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roadways.

We also need to educate the public on the seriousness of driving. In my opinion, we need to use the same techniques used to popularize the use of seat belts in order to educate the public on the danger of erratic driving. Television commercials could be one very effective way to educate the public. Other ways to educate the public include more frequent testing for the re-issuance of driver’s licenses and better driving training for young drivers.

I would like to suggest that a coalition of organizations join forces to help reduce the number of U.S. citizens killed and injured while driving our roadways.

Some of these organizations could include the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. state government transportation organizations, Automobile Safety Foundation, Automotive Coalition of Traffic Safety, American Automotive Association, National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory, Public Citizen, Canada Safety Council, Smart Motorist, and National Safety Council.

We as a society do not seem to be able to drive reasonably. We need to enforce our laws to force people to drive reasonably and carefully. We also need to educate people on the seriousness of driving—to make them aware just how dangerous it is to drive.