Speed. Can you be without it?
Are you willing to drive slower to save lives?
I am.
Los Angeles has a huge hit and run problem as chronicled in the LA Weekly.
According to the Weekly, 48 percent of traffic accidents in Los Angeles are hit and run offenses, much higher than the national average of 11 percent. Approximately 100 pedestrians are killed each year in Los Angeles by hit and run drivers.
(This is insane and honestly sometimes I do drive because walking seems dangerous)
Los Angeles Walks wrote a piece offering some solutions.
I really liked this solution:
Lower speed limits to protect pedestrians, especially children. Pedestrians hit by a car traveling 20 m.p.h. have just a 5 percent chance of being killed. The fatality rate skyrockets to 85 percent when a car is travelling 40 m.p.h. Many cities around the world are setting speed limits near schools and in residential and other highly walked areas at 20 m.p.h./30 k.p.h.
The fatality rate skyrockets to 85 percent!!!!! Come one human beings. We are in control here.
What does it say about us as a society that we refuse to lower our speed limits yet we cry out at things we can not control which kill us?