1-8-06 Rant du Jour - Driving

Drivers stink.

It's not just that people drive badly - they're rude.

I've been thinking about it. We, as a society, spend bazillions on trying to make cars safer. Air bags, roll bars, child seats, crumple zones, etc etc. this is all good stuff, BUT.....

I have come to the conclusion that we could have fewer tragic driving accidents if we invested just a tiny bit more in drivers-ed and safety.

I'm 43 years old. The last time I had a behind the wheel drivers test, I was 17.

As unpopular as it will be, I have come to the conclusion that the BEST thing we can do to reduce accidents is to make people drive better and be more courteous. SO....

I think:

- EVERYONE - I don't care how old you are - should have to take a yearly drivers test to get a license renewed. Of course I think that the DMV will need to revise their scheduling and increase hours of operation, but this small PIA can have a big impact on safety. If you can't pass the test - no license!

- We need reasonable "rules of the road" and they should be enforced. If you speed - you get a ticket. If you don't signal lane changes - you get a ticket. If you cut people off - you get a ticket.

- Driving should be a task - not a thing you do while you do your hair, make-up, read, eat, drink, talk on the phone, discipline your kids, etc. Now don't go nuts - obviously you may have to discipline your kids while driving, but there are things you can do while driving and things that you should pull over to do.

I do think cars should be safe. I do think kids should be in safety seats. BUT - I really think that if people took driving more seriously and that if people were better, safer, more considerate drivers, we would have a lot less problems on the road. Good driving habits could save a lot more lives than airbags!

And while I don't want to get into the whole thing about whether or not we should have seat belt and/or helmet laws (and regardless of what you think about that issue - if people drove better it wouldn't be such an issue), but I can't for the life of me understand how any state can require seat belts but not helmets. Maybe neither should be required, but how can you justify enforcing one and not the other?

And how the heck can you allow people to ride unrestrained in the back of a pick up truck?

What the heck has happened to common sense?