car safety

Irresponsible Subaru Commercial

NODD just shared a Subaru commercial and commented that it was, well stupid. [youtube=http://youtu.be/E6Sjaq_QhRY]

After watching it I have to say I agree.

In the video a young woman admits she fell asleep at the wheel.

Then  she's handed a check from Subaru for $10,000 because she has been working so hard and she's having a hard time making ends meet. In fact she was working so hard that she fell asleep at the wheel, is what is implied.

The reason this is problematic is it perpetuates the myth that cars keep up safe and car crashes are just accidents that can not be helped.

People make us safe by driving the best we can and the majority of car crashes are avoidable.

Of course we are happy this young woman walked away uninjured but there is a problem in the message here.

Car Crashes Are The #1 Cause of Death To Kids Ages 1-12

Car crashes are the singular biggest event claiming the lives of our youth.

Car crashes are the #1 KILLER of American kids ages 1-12

We all go out while pregnant and make sure we invest in the best car seat, a lot of us go to the local firehouse and have them properly install it. Then we labor for hours, sometimes days and we finally drive our precious newborn home as safely as possible.

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If only we always drove home like we do on that drive.

As a mother I of course am trying to encourage other mothers and fathers to help spread the word. Our children are dying in mostly preventable crashes. 

We need to slow down, get off our phones, not tailgate and drive with more care. 

Keeping our kids safe goes beyond the car seat. It frustrates me that the media focuses on freak accidents and we all start to live in fear of events we truly can not predict. But these car crashes, a lot, can be avoided.

Talk about tailgating and using your phone at the dinner table. It is important. 

Rage in America

There is rage in America. Obviously from today's horrific news.

Nearly 40,00-50,000 American die each year in car crashes and most of these are avoidable. These are officials who are saying these are mostly avoidable and yet we are not driving with care. We are driving and living with rage.

I think we need to focus on where this rage is coming from. Understand it and fix it.

Because once you connect yourself again with the ability to appreciate another human then you can help humanity by driving and being the most peaceful person you can be.

We can not control a lot of things in life but we, in particular parents, can control the way we drive to the best of our ability.

The leading factor in deaths for people under the age of 25 is car crashes.

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Let's get enraged about that and change it.

Malibu Mom

A very funny comedic, Susanna Brisk, who lives in Malibu recently blogged about her un-funny car accident. 

Susanna is a mother to two and she is a very crass, funny mom, so to her hear her write very sincerely about the scare made me feel for her.

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Thanks for sharing Susanna! I too will try to focus more while driving like you say here:

So I am never, ever changing the station/calling on the phone/turning on iPod/putting on mascara/changing my underwear while driving again (what? Shit happens.) No more. I got a pretty cheap wake-up call considering… If you had seen the car you would be shocked that anyone had walked out of it almost without a scratch.

It’s incredible the lengths G-d will go to, to make me feel lucky to be alive.