safe driver
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Most people don't know this.
If you tell someone this they might laugh at you.
I hope that by talking about the high amount of car crashes that are preventable just by deciding not to talk on your phone or text while driving a few people will change their potentially deadly ways this month.
There is rage on our roads. (warning this is graphic)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhmOzhPRxQs]
People are pissed.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRduBE8OoE0]
I'm not sure about what. But they are mad. I live in Los Angeles and I'm surrounded by acts of angry drivers almost daily. This video is pretty funny about how intense it is trying to park at a Whole Foods in LA. Ever parked at Santa Monica and Fairfax? Uh-huh.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU]
Road rage, according to Wikipedia, is defined as : an aggressive or angry behaviour by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle. Such behaviour might include rude gestures, verbal insults, deliberately driving in an unsafe or threatening manner, or making threats. Road rage can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions which result in injuries and even deaths. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving.
And guess what the term was coined here in LA! Due to a rash of people shooting each other in their cars in the late 80's. So LA.
Here are a list of actions that fall under the category of road rage:
The following are common manifestations of road rage, via Wikipedia:
I am tailgated nearly every single time I hit the freeways.
Why are we doing this? Where is this rage coming from? I'm going to give you my opinion based on my 35 years of living.
1. They feel rushed.
2. They are having a bad day.
3. They are a serial killer.
4. They think everyone else driving is an asshole.
Now I have to say that 3 is highly unlikely but 1, 2 & 4 sound pretty feesible. I think that with all of the advancements we have made, technologically speaking, over the past 100 years, our primal little selves have not caught up. We are freaking out. That's why so many of us are on anti-this or thats. A lot of us have long commutes. Our lifestlyes are cram packed with a lot to do.
So two ideas:
1. Plan less things into your day
2. Leave earlier
Humans are not perfect. We make errors.
We will make errors with our cars. We need to be more forgiving and understanding on the roads.
Every day in LA I see acts of kindness, mostly out of my car. It is only once people slide behind the mask of their thousands of pounds cars that they seem to make so many unkind actions. I think that is why this rage is so pervasive. That and the fact that cars represent freedom. And if there is traffic, where is the freedom? How can you escape?
Here is a clip to the doctor who intentionally sped ahead of two bikers in LA, who were not going fast enough for his liking, he then braked and they crashed into his car. Seriously injuring them both. I wonder how much time he has pissed away by that horrible, barbaric act. He was sentenced to five years in jail. As he was sentenced he said:
"I would like to apologize again, deeply and profoundly from the bottom of my heart," said Thompson.
"The physical and mental scars are my fault. I think Mr. Watson said I've not been remorseful or accepted responsibility, I do," he said, telling them that he has recurring nightmares about one of the cyclists crashing through the windshield of his car.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7208332
Have you ever driven with rage?
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My husband and friend will often tease me, "Oh no. Fix The Toaster" is at it again. I joke that I'll look like a real ass if I die in a car accident.
Joking aside, chances are pretty high I might die in a car accident.
Sorry to be a Debby Downer, but so are yours.
Your odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident are 1 in 83, that's over your lifetime (if that's of comfort)
Your odds of dying while flying are 1 in 5,000, to offer some comparison.
Anyways, I know car accidents will always happen, I get it. I drive safely or rather I try my best. But those odds need to change.
Yesterday, after taking my two kids who are 17 months apart out and having them cry off and on for the entire outing I finally got them both in the car and was happy to get out of the garage.
I was at a light when my 2 1/2 year-old said, "Mom, I'm not buckled in!"
I threw the car into park, got out and buckled him in, not before kissing him and telling him thank you for telling me. I make mistakes.
I have accidents. (not car related, knock on wood)
I try very hard to drive defensively and I hope that I never cause a car accident.
But things happen, this I get. My point here is that:
1. Accidents happen but most that are happening are preventable.
2. I'm not saying that I'm impervious to car accidents or a fantastic driver.
I know that my heightened awareness for this topic is partly driven by the beautiful souls that are covered in fragile bones and flesh, that I drive around daily. What Lori Coble has had to go through blows my mind. She lost all three of her children in a car accident.
Remembering-Kyle-Emma-and-Katie-Coble-Video
Even though car accidents will always happen so much can and should be done right now to change this.
Infrastructure should be looked at, merging when given only a few hundred feet is absurd and dangerous.
Speed should be reconsidered.
Driving distracted heavily examined.
Driving thoughtfully. As our contributor Scott Marshall said, driving is a team sport, I love that thought.
This is the first post from one of our contributors, Scott Marshall of Safe Driver. Scott is father to 4, he lives in Canada. We are please to have him sharing his insight here with us. Raising my kids has taught me many things.
I always try to get them to realize that they should think of how their actions could affect anyone else. My parents raised me the same way. So far it’s worked out quite well. There’s often remorse when they do something they know is wrong.
That remorse usually means they make the proper decision before they do the action. That should keep them on the up and up as they go through life, don’t you think? Have you been raised to think about how your actions may affect someone else?
Recently while I was out driving with my son on the freeway, we came across a situation that affected my son emotionally.
While passing a slower vehicle on my left, that said driver decided to change lanes toward my vehicle. Since I teach my students at Young Drivers of Canada a technique that will allow them to notice slight movement of vehicles in a variety of directions, I was able to notice their movement quite early. Once I noticed their vehicle’s movement toward my lane markings I tapped my horn quite a few times with the hope of getting the driver’s attention and getting them to stay in their lane. It didn’t work so I ended up having to reduce speed and move partially onto the shoulder to my left to avoid the collision.
The driver who attempted to change lanes did absolutely nothing while I continued to tap my horn except continue into my lane; the space that my vehicle was occupying. A few moments later, they changed back into their original lane.
As we continued past them, my son and I glanced over to see what a driver might look like who seemed to care less about our safety.
The driver was someone probably in their mid-twenties and they were smiling as my son and I glanced at them.
Were they smiling because they were successful at cutting us off?
Were they smiling because they didn’t crash at freeway speeds?
Only they will know.
I tend to shrug those things off as I see them happen each week when I drive, but my son couldn’t do it. He started to cry. Yes, he was upset that the driver almost hit us and would have done so if I didn’t respond as I did.
He was more upset that the driver didn’t seem to have any remorse for their actions. He actually said to me, “I could have died and they didn’t care!”
Have you ever thought of how your actions could really affect other people when you drive? This careless and thoughtless driver didn’t seem to care about us and anyone else on the road, including themselves. Why not? Were they not taught these values as a child? It’s never too late to change.
The next time you’re driving, ask yourself before you make a driving choice how it could affect someone else; even the 12 year old passenger of the vehicle near them. Remember, you can mentally scar someone with your actions; not just physically injure them. It’s time to think before you act.
This article is for my friend; Lindsay Kavet. She has the passion that more people need to help make changes with road safety. – Scott Marshall The Safe Driver
**Thanks Scott!
Twitter and social networking really can be an amazing thing. I just happened upon an event that will take place tomorrow in honor of a young boy named Conor Lynch. Here is a bit about Conor via the the website.
On October 19, 2010, while training with his high school cross country team, Conor Lynch was killed by a distracted, unlicensed, hit-and-run driver. He was 16 years old. The woman who killed him was 18 years old. Coincidentally, this tragedy occurred during National Teen Safe Driving Week.
Born August 19, 1994 in Los Angeles, Conor was the eldest son of Mark Lynch, partner of Cypress LLP in Los Angeles and Jeri Dye Lynch, CEO and President of Pinecrest Schools, a chain of private schools in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Conor attended Pinecrest Schools Van Nuys from 18 months to 8th grade, and was a junior at Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks at the time of his passing. He is remembered by teachers and classmates as an excellent student, team player and friend. In summers past he had been a camp counselor, lifeguard and swim instructor for Pinecrest Schools where the younger children fondly remember him as “Coach Conor”. He also worked at the Sherman Oaks Little League snack bar, which has been renamed in his honor. He enjoyed working with children who looked up to him as a role model and “big brother.”
You can read more about him on the Conor Lynch site.
The Conor Lynch Foundation was formed and here is its mission statement: The Conor Lynch Foundation has been established to support new and existing programs that raise awareness and promote the safety of runners, pedestrians, cyclists and young drivers. Your contribution, and events such as safety fairs and the annual 5K Run/Walk “In Honor Of Conor” directly benefit this foundation, and work to ensure that no family suffers a loss like this again.
Here is the amazing, moving, PSA the Conor Lynch Foundation made. Show it to your kids. Or your friends, really we live in such a distracted world.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aghHS1lC4rw]
Well if you are swallowing back a lump in your throat like me this morning reading this and live close enough head on down to a run tomorrow in honor of Conor and this foundation. There will be a 5K run/walk in Sherman Oaks starting at 8:30. You can register here.
Since I have become determined to try and make some difference in the amount of people dying in cars I've come across very few sites that have garnered a big following. Of course there is MADD, which has done amazing things. But what I was aiming for was a bit broader, as my mom would say "weirder." Just a general thought process that this is truly crazy that so many people die in car accidents and that we seem to have accepted this as, acceptable.
I have found one person whom I have really enjoyed reading. I recently emailed him and asked him if he'd be interested in becoming a contributor to Fix The Toaster and he has said yes.
So, Fix The Toaster is happy to introduce Scott Marshall.
He is a father to 4! He is a Canadian and his site Safe Driving offers up a lot of observation coming from a very good place. He is passionate about making the roads safer just as I am. He'll be posting in a couple of weeks.
Fix The Toaster is looking for more contributors, if you know someone who is passionate or knowledgeable about this subject please pass on our info to them.
