According to the Birmingham News, six people were killed in traffic accidents in Jefferson County, Alabama on Sunday, August 3, 2008. One of the accidents involved a head-on collision on an overpass. This collision killed two minors, ages 13 and 15, and injured four others. In another accident, a car ran off the road killing the driver and passenger and injuring three minors sitting in the back seat of the car.
Six lives taken. Most likely, these lives could have been saved. These accidents were most probably preventable. Most accidents are. The term “Accident” is somewhat of a misnomer. Typically, “Accidents” are caused by carelessness. What types of carelessness? Being in a hurry, not paying attention, fooling with a cell phone, talking to passengers in the rear, looking down at the radio, reaching for something on another seat or on the floorboard, etc.
“Accidents” take a split second to happen. When we are operating our vehicles, we need to be careful. We need to pay attention to those around us. When we don’t, accidents happen. People get injured, and some die. It is unnecessary. We can wait five minutes to look at our cell phone. We can get to where we are going two minutes later. We can wait until we get to a stop sign to reach down on the floorboard.
Think about these things next time you are in your car, and maybe the next “Accident” will be prevented.
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