A drastic solution to a big problem
Two contiguous stories in my local newspaper last week describe the same growing American problem, one in analytical statistical terms, the other as horrifying human tragedy.
In one story, the Associated Press reports that, according to the National Safety Council, traffic fatalities increased by 6 per cent in 2016, climbing past 40,200. In other words, more than 110 people die in traffic every day.
But pedestrian deaths are increasing, as well, more quickly than other traffic fatalities. They surpassed 6000 last year, an 11 per cent increase.
The number of people killed while driving or walking is directly related to the number of miles driven and miles walked, both of which have increased as the economy has improved since 2008, as gas prices have dropped and as more people are walking for exercise.
But according to Richard Retting, safety director for Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants, kilometres walked and kilometres driven are up only a few percentage points, not enough to account for the surge in traffic and pedestrian fatalities. Researchers admit that correlation is difficult to confirm, but they speculate that the biggest factor contributing to the increase in fatalities is more drivers and walkers distracted by cellphones and other electronic devices.
An adjacent story supports this proposition: On March 30, several drivers noticed a pickup moving erratically along a two-lane road about 120km west of San Antonio, Texas. One driver reported that the pickup crossed the centre line several times. He called the Real County sheriff’s office saying: ’’He’s going to hit somebody head on... Somebody needs to get this guy off the road.’’
But before the sheriff could respond, the pickup drifted out of its lane on a curve and slammed head on into a church minibus carrying a troop of senior citizens returning home from a nearby spiritual retreat. Thirteen were killed.
The 20-year-old driver of the pickup survived. An early arrival at the scene quoted him: ‘‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was texting.’’
This event occurred as the Texas legislature considers bills that would prohibit texting while driving. A number of municipalities in Texas already ban the practice, but attempts at a state-wide prohibition have failed several times since 2009.
In 2011, anti-texting legislation reached the desk of Governor Rick Perry, but he vetoed the bill, calling it ‘‘a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults’’.
Perry said that he prefers information and education campaigns to discourage texting while driving, imagining that with sufficient knowledge, drivers will be responsible enough to eliminate problems such as this one.
The Texas legislature – along with other state legislatures that haven’t done so – should make texting while driving illegal. But the problem is that there’s a decent chance such a law wouldn’t have prevented last week’s devastating collision.indeed, I live in a Texas city that punishes texting while driving with a $500 fine. Yet drivers in the next lane texting or talking on a hand-held device are a common sight.
Of course, travel always involves risk. But our casual acceptance of the carnage on our highways is disturbing. Still, a car crash with 13 fatalities, as well as the sharp uptick in fatalities caused by distracted driving, ought to provoke us to more drastic action.
It’s difficult to stop drivers from drinking and speeding. But the technology already exists to make texting in a moving vehicle impossible. Indeed, some parents are already using apps that block their teens from texting while driving.
We should have the will to impose such strictures on ourselves. Perry would call this government overreach, but driving is hardly a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Legislation that makes texting and driving impossible could have saved at least 13 lives last week.
Tribune News Service