STREET DOGS

DISTRACTIONS inside our vehicles abound. For many professionals, their car is their office. For younger drivers, it continues to serve as a social hub. But now vehicles are not just a mobile party; they’ve also become a spot to place calls and send texts — all too often with deadly consequences. — Akweli Parker

Unlike aviation or rail transport, the highway can inflict tremendous casualties and property damage without in the least affecting the viability of the system. Plane crashes, for example, jeopardise the attraction of flying for potential passengers and therefore strike at the heart of the air transport economy. They motivate preventative efforts. The situation is different on the roads.

Motor vehicle accidents cost billions in property damage, medical expenses and lost wages … in fact, the gigantic costs of the highway carnage support a vast array of services — medical, police, administrative, legal, insurance. Repair shops and funeral parlours stand equipped to handle the direct and indirect consequences of accident injuries. But it is mainly in the post-accident response that lawyers and physicians and other specialists tend to labour. This is where the remuneration lies and this is where the talent and energies go. Consequently, our society has an intricate organisation to handle the direct and indirect aftermaths of collisions. But the true mark of a humane society must be what it does about the prevention of accidents, not the cleaning up of them afterwards. Unfortunately, the history of the automobile serves as a prime example of the many obstacles which must be overcome in the taming of any hazard which is a by-product of commerce. — Ralph Nader, Unsafe At Any Speed. Michel Pireu — e-mail pireum@streetdogs.co.za