On the way to work now and then I hear a commercial for an Illinois program called "Click it or Ticket." "Illinois police are cracking down on those who aren't wearing seatbelts." Here's their reasoning (I memorized it):
"7 out of 10 people who died in car crashes in Illinois died for one simple reason, they weren't wearing seatbelts."
Go back and read it again. I'll wait.
At first, it sounds good. Years ago I would have supported the idea. Nowadays, I see seatbelt violations a little closer to a victimless crime. But that's entirely beside the point. I can believe their 70% not buckled up figure. The hole in their idea falls instead at the end of their argument. I propose that all 10 of those 10 died for a different reason: they were in car crashes!
Perhaps—just perhaps, mind you—the money spent on this campaign could be better spent enforcing the causes of the accidents. Treat the disease, not the symptoms.
Perhaps ticketing people who drive aggressively? Or people driving and romancing their cell phones? Or women doing their makeup while piloting 1800+ pounds of hurtling steel. What about what is probably the most violated law in the land (the speed limit)? Tailgaters? People with newspapers or maps between them and their steering wheels? Maybe we prioritize.
I propose that every car accident is caused by recklessness. Maybe not from a driver. Maybe a pedestrian steps out, making someone swerve into someone else. More likely, someone was in too much of a hurry, going too fast, not paying enough attention, swerving around slowpokes, cutting them off on the other way around-oh, sorry. I will allow for some extraordinary circumstances, but for the vast majority of the time, if you hit someone with your car, it was for one of two simple reasons. Either you were going too fast for conditions, or you were not paying enough attention. It’s not the snow’s fault. It’s not the road conditions. It’s not your tires—if they’re bald, change them.
I’m reminded of an anti-drug commercial I kind of like. A young (eight- to ten-year-old?) child is shown entering a backyard pool, and nobody else is around . The voiceover says something to the effect of, “Just tell them you weren’t paying attention because you were busy getting high. They’ll understand.�
If responsibility can be the anti-drug, I think it can have benefits in the rest of our daily lives.
Welcome to the gene pool. No lifeguards on duty. They’re busy getting high. Or driving. Maybe both.