Car Collisions took a toll on my students this term. In one class, one student dropped out after being t-boned, another student was hit last Thursday on the way to class, and another student had to buy another car. That was the saddest one for me, because she also drove a late model saturn, and so we were kind of buddies for that. Now she drives a cavalier. This morning on the way to work, I almost lost my saturn when a guy in a Mercedes ran a stop sign and almost careened head first into me. He didn't even make eye contact. I just hope I don't see him again. It seems in the last few years that car collisions have risen far more than they should, and I think I know why.
More people on the road than before. Concomitant with the general population growth, the popularity and affordability of driving increased, meaning there are more cars on the road on average. The roads are choked because more people are driving more cars at higher speeds than when I started driving. They made it easier for young people to drive and for illegal aliens to get licenses. Many young people dont' have to take a driver education course, and illegal aliens get permissions instead of punishments. Then there are the mopeds, which do not require licenses or insurance to drive but who take up a lane and slow up the flow of traffic. I have even seen them on the freeway! Driving used to be a privilege, but now many young people consider it a right of passage.
More cars are designed for fuel economy over safety. I'm not the only person driving a small car, but both of my students who are still around drive small sedans. One of them was a total loss, and the other, I heard last night, will cost about $2500 to repair. I know my saturn is designed to explode on contact; I know that because I've taken the fenders off and looked at what's underneath. There is only one small steel bar in the door, and it runs at a 45 degree angle basically parallel to my arm but is only about an inch wide. It won't stop much. In order to meet CAFE standards and people's expectations for fuel economy, they have to build them smaller and lighter.
More distractions compete with drivers. I remember watching a woman one morning during grad school do her makeup one morning, and I see people eating or talking on the phone. We have onboard navigation, onboard entertainment, onboard communication, and all sorts of other things that compete for our attention. In fact, I think people engage in these activities because they don't actually enjoy driving. Whatever the case may be, their attention is elsewhere, and so I don't think they can pay attention even if they desire to. The man who almost hit me this morning didn't really look like he cared. We don't know the other drivers, and so we don't really seem to care too much if we inconvenience them. Other drivers are people too.
I once saw a poem about drivers written as if from alien observers who asked if the people in the cars were the car's guts or its brains. I do not see much behavior from drivers that indicates that we use our brains while driving our cars. Several of my relatives and students have been involved in significant collisions, and in a few cases that led to fatalities. As more types of people and more people in general take to the roads, I think it becomes even more important to train them well. As we gain access to more gadgets and gizmos in our cars, I think it's more important than ever to emphasize the fundamentals. Today's close call came as consequence of flagrant disregard for basic traffic rules combined with a lack of situational awareness. Good thing I was paying attention! Don't assume other people are looking out for you. Even if you don't drive, sometimes you need to look out for cars and other drivers. Several bus stops have been hit in the Vegas Valley, and I was nearly clipped by a bus' mirror a few weeks back. Watch your step, buckle your seatbelt, and check your blind spots. Be safe out there.
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