ALT-1 Driver Safety how to Reduce Fatal Accidents
Every day of every year people die needlessly on our highways due to any number of reasons, but the main reason always comes home to roost - we each need to accept more personal responsibility for the well-being of others. Simple human concern for the safety of a total stranger would reduce traffic fatalities drastically, and in fact would turn tragedies into fender-benders and fender-benders into near misses. As a collective society we have become so self-absorbed in our own existence and desire to conquer our surroundings that the safety of those around us never enters our consciousness. Add to this that the average person has never been in a serious accident resulting in horrific injury, and the false belief that it will never occur to us is fortified in our foolish minds.Fatal automobile accidents could be reduced by beginning with better driver education, safety awareness, and the acceptance of our personal responsibilities to those we come into contact with on the highways. Perhaps better understanding for young drivers of the impact of behaving foolishly behind the wheel, and a refresher course for older drivers would keep safety more at the forefront of driving. Driver education should become an ongoing process with regular training and re-training, rewarded by lower automobile insurance rates for those who show a strong desire to become a safer driver. Those individuals that do not agree to accept continual driver safety training could finance training programs with higher insurance costs.Harsher criminal penalties and fines and increased police presence are possibly the best manner in which to reduce traffic fatalities. Drivers are well aware of the laws they are breaking in most cases, and to dole out a $150 fine to a person going 25 miles over the speed limit at rush hour while talking on a cell phone and applying makeup is hardly a deterrent or punishment for putting dozens of lives at risk. Likewise, and individual that has 4 drunk driving charges should not be allowed to drive at all, ever, as they have repeatedly demonstrated a total lack of concern for public safety. Yet somehow these individuals can persist in putting all of society at risk daily, as the court system gives minor penalties for what should be a major crime.Fatal accidents can be reduced within our local communities at least, by becoming proactive in the safety programs of local law enforcement and supporting their efforts in terms of funding and staffing. Letting our elected officials know that highway safety is a priority will also assure that the issue will get the attention it deserves in accordance with it's importance.
