Even though the DOT reports less death accidents in personal vehicles we still have a long way to go. Over 40,000 people die on our streets and highways every year. We all know someone who has died in a traffic accident. In the United States we have the safest roads in the world and the safest cars too. What else can we do to bring down that number of 40,000 deaths? That is twenty times higher than the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan combined and we did not even have a war to kill all those friends and neighbors on our highways. One idea which had been kicked around was to put a little light on the dash boards of cars so when an ambulance, fire truck or police car with lights and sirens was on it would flash on the dash board to alert drivers to pull over. This could very easily be done with a small network sensor in every car and a small light on the dash, which would activate automatically when an emergency vehicle was within one-eighth of a mile away. Clean windows of course help for visibility. Five thousand deaths occur near, around or on the way to accidents, which have already occurred. This includes crashes into emergency vehicles, police officers out of their cars and rear end collisions due to rubber necking and lack of paying attention. Other ideas which are on their way to a car near you include such things as improved kids car seats: Also innovations in air bags, radars and simple things you can do to protect yourself; If you are involved in an accident you need to be aware of what to do, chances are every driver will sometime be involved in an accident sometime in their lives. If you are wondering what safety features you next car might have check out this list and see if your choice for your next car is safe enough for your family. Lets all buckle up and stay heads up while driving, don't be a statistic and don't cause any. Think about it. |
