Apparently people where I come from have an inability to use the car in the function for which it was designed: driving.
When Henry Ford invented the first automobile did he ever think there would be such a thing as stereos or cell phones? No. There were telephones around when cars where invented but I don't believe anyone thought they could be used in one.
I studied physics a good bit in school and most of the examples of force involved car accidents. I guess maybe they were trying to teach us that 2 cars going 30 mph hitting each other head on produces a great deal of force. It pretty much means death or serious injury whenever this happens but some people apparently don't take driving here seriously.
It's bad enough that I have to concentrate on driving and not hit someone running out into the street. I also have to make sure no one hits me while not paying attention for one of the following reasons:
- Talking to other people in the car, looking at them for an extended period of time
- Talking to other people in the car, using both arms as body language to really get the point across
- For some reason simply not looking at the road and noticing other cars coming
- Talking on the cell phone
- Burning yourself from your cigarette, joint, crack pipe, or all of the above
- Yelling at the kids in the backseat
- Playing your playstation
- Paying attention to the DVD your children are watching
- Cutting me off really did seem like the right thing to do
I wish I could say only one of those happens every day but it's usually one of 3 can happen on any given time I leave the house. At least it's pretty consistent so one can plan for it and can prevent accidents. I don't see why I really have to concentrate on my driving and the driving of everyone around me but apparently that is what it takes to survive.
I think it's getting to where we need constant testing. It wouldn't be so bad if cars weren't so dangerous, or people would concentrate on driving first. I see way too many people paying too much attention to things other than driving. The fact still remains that driving is a privilege, not a right. The government can say “You can only drive if you cut off your left arm” and those of us who want to drive must cut off their left arm. So why does the government, in complete control of this, let obvious problems continue to exist because they don't want to correct it? Screw what it stirs up, you're saving lives. If you want to drive, you have to jump through the hoops. Sadly time has come for those hoops to be raised a little higher.
There are many new teen driving laws in Georgia too which points to the problem. Sadly though the majority of the people having issues with driving aren't teenagers but adults who can't seem to remember or care for the laws. Hopefully the government will begin to recognize the problem with the introduction of video cameras on certain streets. They may be looking for only people running red lights but maybe they can be proof for the bigger problem at hand.
I have made mistakes driving before but I've learned from them. My girlfriend has a cell phone so I have used it while driving before. I can honestly say that I could not handle a cell phone regularly. I can barely make a call on my own but I could talk for a good couple of seconds before my driving instinct takes over. Even with hands free it doesn't negate the fact that simply talking to the other person can distract you. I know this fact and I choose not to operate a cell phone while driving unless absolutely necessary. Why won't other people realize this? A previous employer of mine shouldn't own a cell phone at all. He would slightly swerve into the other lane from time to time, either in the initial answering of the call or during the 30-45 minutes he liked to take on each call. Someone like that needs to say “I'll call you back I'm driving” a lot more than he does.
Anyways it's not my place to judge but it is my place to value my own life. The negligence of other drivers directly affects my well-being and possibly my existence. It is a very big deal for me when someone shoots at me so it's equally a big deal when someone in a car tries to kill me as well. They may not be intentionally trying to harm me but regardless of intentions I could still die. I guess I would rather struggle for life in driving a car than say have to defend myself with a weapon. I don't like killing of any kind nor do I think I could ever be okay with killing another human being, even in self defense.