The
fact that almost 42,000 people were killed last year, innocent victims,
in violent deaths and millions more are injured, often severely crippled,
simply going about their daily business in or near automobiles should,
and will, create a groundswell of rage to force solutions to be enacted
by those who sit passively and watch the horror, and in some cases profit
from it. We need efficient and affordable public transportation nationwide,
safe (truly safe) automobiles, and laws that give law enforcement agencies
the ability to protect and control drivers and passengers on roads and
highways. Perhaps a memorial like the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial would
make and keep people aware of the number of people who have been killed
in and by automobiles. The design of such a memorial will be difficult,
however, for thousands of names will have to be added each month.
The most
severe problem facing the citizens of the United States today, the greatest
threat to public safety, and one of the most dire, unbelievable catastrophes
in history continues, unabated, and the death toll is rising at the rate
of 115 per day. 41,471 people were killed by automobiles in 1998, and 3,192,000
were injured. A disaster of this magnitude needs immediate and drastic
action. The simple act of transporting a child to school or to the library
or to visit relatives has become like an act out of a violent horror story.
We as citizens are responsible. We must hold the government accountable,
at the federal, state, and local level. Write them, informing them of your
concern; monitor their voting record on issues of public transportation,
automobile safety measures, traffic law, and funds for law enforcement
of traffic violations , and vote accordingly. Let the automobile industry
know, with your voice and with your wallet, that our lives, our children's
lives, are more important than their profit margin, encourage them to take
the steps necessary to make automobiles safe. Forty-two thousand lives
should not be an acceptable standard in determining that cars and trucks
are safe enough. Redesign is what is called for, instead of band-aid measures,
and tooth and nail fights to reduce or limit safety standards to decrease
their costs, and advertising campaigns that play to our worst impulses,
and building more and more large vehicles, appealing to our instinct for
self-preservation which in turn increases the death toll as these larger
and heavier vehicles share the road with smaller, more vulnerable vehicles.
Appeal
to the media to report what is truly important to all of us, what the real
dangers are, perhaps with regular features, reporting accident data, status
of laws and the stands of proponents and opponents, auto industry efforts
to apply, or discourage, true safety standards, and reports on law enforcement
efforts in combating unsafe driving and preventing disasters and, perhaps
most important, use their forum to educate us in what safe driving measures
are. Encourage law enforcement officials and officers to apply their resources
where the data declares they belong, in the enforcement of traffic safety,
and to treat unsafe driving as the criminal act that it is.
These and
other measures are critical if we wish the death, injury, and phenomenal
taxpayer property loss to cease, but the government, the heads of the automobile
industry and its subsidiaries, and the media will take action only if we
let them know loudly and unceasingly that we are outraged and won't stand
for it. But the most important thing we can do as citizens who care for
life over greed or speed is to recognize the great responsibility of piloting
3000 to 6000 pounds of steel down a roadway upon which lives are dependant
upon you and your actions. Think, when the need to hurry arises: is it
worth risking someone else's, a child's, life? Obey the speed limits, maintain
a safe distance from other vehicles, don't weave in and out of traffic
in what will be a futile, and possibly fatal, effort to save a few minutes
or seconds, and drive especially cautiously in residential areas, or areas
where children and other pedestrians are vulnerable. Of the 5412 pedestrians
and 761 pedalcyclists killed by automobiles in 1996, 666 of the pedestrians
killed were children, and 223 of the pedalcyclists killed were children
(0 to 14 years). Our lives, our children's lives, are at stake when we
are behind the wheel.
Please, help spread the word-write the President, the Vice President, the
First Lady, your Congressperson, your Senator, your state and city elected
officials, car companies, your local and national newspapers, local law
enforcement officials, friends and relatives-make a noise and make a change.Visit
links below for more information, and places to begin making your voice
heard.