Slow and Steady

Within a week, I witnessed two earth-shattering car accidents happen on my street. My front window lent me a front row seat to the carnage- the ugly screech of the tires, the hollow echoing blow, the mortal screams. The first was a teen boy, who’d tried to speed around a corner and hit a parked pickup truck, which then spun into the middle of the road. The second was a thirty year-old woman who drove into a fence, denting the car behind it. She was reportedly speeding as well. Both drivers emerged physically unscathed. Both drivers were extremely lucky.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 26% of motor fatalities in 2018 were a result of speeding. Speeding is extremely dangerous, not just for the contents of the car, but for pedestrians as well. It’s much harder to control a speeding car, especially in wet weather. The drivers and passengers at least have some protection from the force. A pedestrian is utterly vulnerable.

The best thing I personally can do to curb the bad habit of speeding once and for all is to avoid doing it myself. Also, I’ll avoid cars which are speeding and, if possible, give them plenty of space to move in in case they lose control. As a pedestrian, it might help to be perpetually acutely aware of my surroundings at all times. Listening to music while walking, for example, is a habit I have to break in order to be safer as an individual.

Ultimately, a car shares the mind of its driver, like a second skin. The driver is the brain and heart of the automobile, and therefore, the driver must control their moods. Anxiety, impatience, and irritability can lead one to speeding. Hiding in their second skins, people are more willing to behave more recklessly, because the anonymity cloaks them and makes them feel like they’ll be absolved from consequences.

Perhaps people, knowing this information, will realize that the opportunity cost of speeding is likely far higher than the result. If they can realize this and drive composedly, they’ll not only make the roads safer for themselves, but everyone. Thousands of lives hang in the balance.