James Dean.
Princess Diana. “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon.
What do these
celebrities have in common? They all died in car crashes.
I have no doubt
you can name many more people who fall into that category. We all can. Friends,
colleagues, neighbors, family.
We have been
talking about the need to maintain and improve our transportation system and
the needed increase in transportation funding to do that. We’ve talked about
the economy. We’ve talked about growth. But truthfully, there is nothing more
important than safety when we talk about transportation. There are an average
of 30,000 traffic fatalities in the US each year and an average of 200 per year
in Idaho. One death is too many, much less 30,000!
What can we do?
No one “fix”
will solve all transportation safety issues. It takes a combination of
infrastructure improvements, enforcement of safety laws, improved vehicle
safety, and most of all, personal action.
Improvements to
our transportation system don’t have to be big. Often, the improvements with
the most “bang for the buck” – the most lives saved for the investment – are
simple: better signage, rumble strips, speed limits.
Coupled with
these is enforcement. Unfortunately, getting to one’s destination safely often
isn’t enough to convince people to drive the speed limit, not run stop signs,
and not drink, or text, and drive. We need enforcement of our traffic safety
laws.
Improvements in
both of these categories – infrastructure and enforcement – cost money. Will an
increase in transportation funding help us to improve our infrastructure and
save lives? Yes. Is the investment worth it? I think so.
However, as I
said, those aren’t the only pieces to the puzzle. Auto manufacturers are
working to make our vehicles safer all the time – think of air bags, backup
cameras, and cars that alert you to a potential accident. When my parents were
growing up, cars didn’t even come with seatbelts…we’ve come a long way since
those days.
But, all the
improvements and safety measures in the world can’t protect us from ourselves.
We are still
human, and despite all the hype over autonomous cars, right now, we are the
ones behind the wheel. There are actions we can all take, that cost nothing,
that make our roads safer:
- Wear your seatbelt.
- Buckle your kids into their car seats.
- Don’t drink and drive, or text and drive.
- Wear a helmet if you’re on your bicycle or motorcycle.
- Obey traffic safety laws.
- Watch for bicyclists and pedestrians.
