![]() "A cement mixer
collided
with a prison van on the Kingston Pass. Motorists are asked to be on
the
lookout for 16 hardened criminals." ![]() ![]() This article tells us that the number of vehicles in operation worldwide surpassed the 1 billion mark in 2010 for the first time ever! The United States accounts for 239.8 million units which constitutes the largest vehicle population in the world. WOW! now that's an enormous amount of mobile people our there on our roads!!! You
know ever since I created this website my main focus has been geared
toward
guns. People would say to me, "Well I understand how you feel about
guns,
but if you are REALLY interested
in saving lives, then you would ALSO focus
upon the fact that more people are killed by cars than by guns in our
society."
So you see guys, I really DO care
about saving lives, for now that I have done an extensive research on
the
subject of cars and how they effect our lives, I feel it is my duty as
an advocator of non-violent living to try my UTMOST to
address this issue. <SIGH>...the idea of 41,059 lives
being lost
is
sticking in my throat like a pill that just won't go down. It is my honest opinion that a
16-year-old person is simply not mature enough to be given the awesome
responsibility
of being able to drive a motor vehicle. You may be surprised at what I
have just stated here, but I would like for you to do me a
favor...please
take a few moments and give some thought to the following questions if
you will...how would you feel about a 16-year-old being called to the
draft?
being allowed to purchase as much hard liquor as they chose to? and
take
drugs? and buy a carton of cigarettes ? how about being allowed to
marry?
being allowed to cast their vote? being allowed to buy a gun?
Naturally,
I don't know how YOU guys
feel about all of this, but in MY opinion,
it seems to me that the extra two year wait until the age of 18 years
old
would really make a world of difference. On the other end of the spectrum, I further believe
that once a person turns 65, due to the natural physical and mental
aging process, will all due respect to the sensitive issue of
independent living, it should be mandatory that they take a yearly
driving test, for the safety of all concerned. Here
is a concept that has always had me wondering...have you ever watched a
car race on tv such as let's say the granddaddy of them all, the
Indianapolis
500? the cars themselves seem to fly along the track like miniature
roket
ships albeit traveling on the ground. What REALLY astounds
me is the fact that even though these cars are going at such breakneck
speeds, whenever the driver is unfortunate enough to either lose
control
of the car he is driving or finds himself an unwilling participant in ANOTHER guy's
error in judgement, the end result is usually a terribly-looking crash,
from which the driver nearly always escapes more or less with minimal
injuries.
Now if such a crash were to happen while you or I were driving our
cars,
we would almost DEFINITELY end
up being either horribly maimed for the rest of our lives or never live
to see tomorrow. Speaking of speed, I have some questions for you to ponder...how would you react if one day you noticed on your local freeway/highway that the new posted speed limit has been lowered to (hold on to your butts) 25 miles per hour? what would you do? how would you feel? would you think it was a joke? would you become angry? or would you laugh yourself silly? Do you seriously believe (like I am beginning to do) that if our speed limits were definitely be lowered to such a low number, that countless human lives would be saved in the process? Something to think about, isn't it? Thanks
to the efforts of many ingenious human beings, we are fortunate enough
to have at our disposal numerous methods with which to aid us in
driving
our vehicles safely. Let's take a look at them together, ok? SEATBELTS/CARSEATS: In
1956, Ford automobiles first offered the population the wonderful seat
belt. By 1964, all new Amercan cars had seatbelts in the front seats
and
by 1966, all cars had seatbelts in the rear seats. The
National Safety Council's statistics on seatbelts tell us that in
1998,
19 million more Americans buckled them around their waists and to ME,
this certainly sounds like there are plenty of people who wish to get
themselves
as well as their loved ones to their destinations as safely as possible. Here is a video regarding seat belts.
Some of you may remember this catchy little tune. AIR BAGS: When I heard that car manufacturers would be offering us the air bag, I said,"YES! this is exactly what a car should have." The The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that air bags have saved over 2600 lives as of October 1997. However, since there has been documented deathsas a RESULT of car air bag deployment, on November 18, 1997 the NHTSA issued a final rule that allows automakers to offer air bag on-off switches to those who certify that they meet one of the four specific risk categories. The NHTSA as well as a few OTHER excellent websites have pertinent information for whoever may be interested. DAYTIME
RUNNING LIGHTS (DRLS): Like
many other people, I flashed my OWN car's
lights at the very first person that I saw driving during the day with
their car's headlights on. "Your lights are on!" I mouthed
excitedly,
but the person drove by without shutting them off. It didn't take
TOO long
before I began to hear/see the advertisements regarding daytime running
lights and I remember thinking to myself, "Oh...so THAT'S why
I've been seeing so many people with their lights on lately!" RED LIGHT CAMERA ENFORCEMENT: I realize that there are many people out there that are not too pleased with this new technology, since after all, who wants to try and beat a red light while knowing that by doing so you may end up pulling a photo of your license plate out of your mailbox along with your usual stack of bills? Not only do you see this photo of your license plate staring at you, but to add insult to your injury, you will also be the not-so-proud recipient of a speeding ticket courtesy of your local police department. Want to know more before you get a big surprise? then go to the National Coalition for Safer Roads website and read about their Stop on Red Campaign. I don't know about you, but personally, I think I'll just keep on stopping at the red lights. Other
than these above vehicle safety aids there are several more ways to (as
the Floridians would say, "Arrive Alive"). Since we as human
beings,
possess the glorious right of the freedom of choice in this beautiful
country,
it is entirely up to each one of us whether we wish to partake in the
awesome
privilege of getting behind the wheel of a car. Please bear in
mind
that as soon as we DO, we automatically become involved in everybody ELSE'S lives,
so for YOUR own
sakes, the sakes of your loved ones plus all of those people that are
here
on this planet WITH you,
the next time you decide to get behind the wheel of YOUR car,
please don't allow yourself to enter into an argument with another
driver,
make lewd/obscene gestures to another driver or play any kind of
"games"
with another driver or somebody may get hurt or even lose their life by
what has commonly come to be known as "road rage." Please do not
get behind the wheel nor allow anybody that you CARE about
get behind the wheel, if there is any question as to the sobriety or
state
of mind of the driver, for I don't think I have to tell you how dire
the
consequences could be. CELL PHONES: Hopefully
someday soon, every
single
vehicle that we sit behind the wheel of will be equipped with it's own
cell phone, which to me is as vitally important as the very wheel ITSELF.
To all of you guys who are presently using cell phones in your
vehicles,
after being informed of the many accidents and/or fatalities that have
arisen from the misuse of these wonderful tools, I am now pleading with
you to please, PLEASE use
your cell phones with the utmost of care, which simply means that
before
you decide to carry on a conversation or text, do yourself as well as
everybody
else a favor and pull your vehicle over first, ok? thank you. Several
states/cities
have already enacted laws that ban the use of speaking on a hand-held
cell
phone and/or texting while driving, and if you're interested in knowing
more about
this
issue, here is an excellent web site called Don't Text & Drive. Yes,
I took the pledge. <>Approximately
three children are killed every week by
vehicles involved in "non-traffic" incidents, often in driveways and on
private property. At least two children per week die as a result of
being struck when a vehicle is backing up -- most of the time by a
parent or other relative, according to the safety organization, KIDS
AND CARS.
Please
drive safely...
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