“The non-story of 2006 was also the
non-story of 2005. It is a non-story every year going back decades.
Yet the number of people who die in car crashes in the United States
is staggering, even if it is absent from the agenda of most public
officials and largely ignored by the public.
...
Roads need to be made safer, for example, by extending guardrails and medians to every mile of busy highways. Speeding and aggressive driving need to be much more rigorously controlled. Trucks need to be separated from automobiles wherever possible. And cars need to be built slower and stronger.
...
But every solution is readily opposed by someone: manufacturers, industrial unions, truckers, consumers, taxpayers -- though all are potential victims themselves.
...
Only if there is a public outcry will this situation get the attention due it.”
Ed Cognoski responds:
...
Roads need to be made safer, for example, by extending guardrails and medians to every mile of busy highways. Speeding and aggressive driving need to be much more rigorously controlled. Trucks need to be separated from automobiles wherever possible. And cars need to be built slower and stronger.
...
But every solution is readily opposed by someone: manufacturers, industrial unions, truckers, consumers, taxpayers -- though all are potential victims themselves.
...
Only if there is a public outcry will this situation get the attention due it.”
Most New Year's resolutions focus on personal shortcomings — losing weight, quitting smoking, etc. This column offers an alternative. Resolve in 2007 to be part of that public outcry, to challenge manufacturers, politicians, neighbors, friends and family to be part of a public movement to increase highway safety in this country. The life you save might be your own.
Happy New Year to all!
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