Barely a month goes by without some urging to take care on the road. The recent return to Pacific Standard Time prompted the usual warning to stay alert. The approaching holiday season will bring more warnings not to drink and drive. And, of course, the ongoing reminders about distracted driving highlight the very real danger of cell phone use while behind the wheel. (See story page 3.)
The warnings were given a more somber tone last week as the country marked National Day of Remembrance of Road Crash Victims.
Held on the third Wednesday in November since 2007, the day is intended to draw attention to the number of people killed or injured in motor vehicle crashes each year.
Close to 2,000 people die annually in Canada, according to Transport Canada.
But that’s only part of the tragic story. Another 149,000 people are injured – 9,647 seriously.
These injuries aren’t just bumps and scratches. Even a “minor” injury can have consequences that can affect a person for a lifetime.
That’s why every time we get behind the wheel we need to acknowledge the responsibility we are assuming for ourselves and the people around us.
Maybe our vehicles are just too comfortable, or our lives are just that much busier, but there seems an increasing disconnect between what’s happening inside our vehicles and what’s going on on the road.
On any given day I’m seeing people in Chilliwack drive like they are the only ones on the road. Lane markers are ignored, speed limits treated like suggestions, and signal lights….
Let’s talk about signal lights.
Patented in 1938, they are remarkable devices and mandatory in nearly every country in the world. Automotive designers love them and spend entire careers perfecting their look, nuancing their location, even engineering their sound.
So what do we do?
We ignore them.
We ignore a device that was specifically designed to allow us to communicate with our fellow drivers. There’s no real magic to it. A flash of a light can tell the car behind us we are merging into his or her lane; that we’ll soon be slowing to make a righthand turn; or that we are leaving the roundabout and it’s now safe to proceed.
A simple device, but when used properly it can keep traffic moving smoothly and safely.
And that’s the essence of good driving: It doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply a matter of awareness, and respect for the drivers around and us.
Yes, we need to know the rules, like how to behave at a four-way stop, or to slow down and move over when passing stopped emergency vehicles.
But the rules are only part of it.
Focus, while behind the wheel, is key. Driving is not a part-time job. The cars are comfortable and the speeds sometimes deceptive. However controlling a tonne of steel as it passes within a metre of pedestrians, cyclist and other vehicles is something we cannot take for granted.
Far too many people die, or suffer life-altering injuries, because we are too careless, too self-centred, or both to pay attention.
And right now in Canada, roughly 410 people each day are dying or suffering injuries because of it.
