Driving Kills People

Driving kills people. There is no other way to put it. The moment you find yourself in the seats of an automobile you are taking your life into the shaky frail hands of traffic laws. And these are not the strong, stone set laws of nature, but the delicate, paper marked laws of man.

When nature writes a law, it is made so that nothing can break it; but with the laws of humans, they only function because we agree that they do. If 90% of people suddenly agreed to drive on the wrong side of the road, it would no longer be the wrong side of the road, even though for the last 10% of population it would still look as though the majority are breaking the law.

Because the laws are simply agreements between people to act in ways that make life safer, it is of the utmost importance that everyone acts in that way. If even just one person decides to go against the grain, the results are a gamble between life and death.

I live in Manor, Texas, a town just outside of Austin, and driving here almost certainly means you are going to cross Highway 290. This may not sound like a huge deal, but for every resident the mere mention of 290 is enough to coax a shudder from even the most experienced driver.

For example, one of my friends offhandedly mentioned that he used to walk to school, and that in order to do so, he would cross 290 on foot. He said it with such ease that you might have thought he was talking about a sleepy side road in a rural town, but the collective reaction of my friends was a gasp of shock and horror. Crossing 290 on foot is a death wish, it is an act of looking death in the eye and challenging it to a game of chicken. A pedestrian should not find themselves anywhere near that highway. But his statement did begin to make me wonder: why are Manor roads so dangerous?

Even though Manor is so close to Austin, not many people have heard of it. This is partly because just 15 years ago, Manor was just a small, somewhat rural town of about 5,000 people. Everybody knew everybody, and the roads were quiet. However, as Austin grew, Manor ballooned out, population growing to around 20,000 people. Suburbs were haphazardly placed, apartments speedily built to accommodate the swell in people. But with all of that growth, the roads were neglected and 290 became the only way to get to major parts of the town. The police department also did not adapt, and the majority of the roadside lawbreaking went unpunished. Manor very quickly became a place where anyone could run a red light or drive recklessly without any repercussions. And so, the citizens adapted to do just that.

Just a few weeks ago, my aunt was driving during rush hour. She crossed 290 when the light turned green, not setting a single foot outside the law, doing the perfectly normal thing anyone could do. An eighteen-wheeler ran the red light and rammed into her driver side at full speed. If she did not angle her wheels away at the last second, it is almost certain that she would be dead right now. All because one driver did not stop when he was supposed to.

Though it sounds as though the driver was just being reckless, it is possible that this was just the result of improper training. Trucks take longer than the average vehicle to come to a complete stop, so it may be that the driver was just unaware of this. Perhaps if he was trained better, if he knew better,  my aunt would not be petrified of driving, and perhaps she would not be wearing a slew of medical contraptions that limit her movement.

Education regarding the roads is essential, not just in situations like the example provided, but the education of the city planners and builders. While it is easy to see the cause and effect of ignorance when it comes crashing into your car, it is more difficult to see the greater forces at play here.

If Manor was planned in a way with a variety of roads, the people who live here would not have to rely on our one large road. My aunt may not have to cross 290, the truck driver would likely have been on that highway anyway, but there would be less people at risk. My friend may have still had to cross 290, but if the roads were planned with pedestrians in mind he would have been significantly safer. Safe driving is not just the responsibility of those on the roads to know better, but it also rests on the shoulders of those who determine exactly where every inch of asphalt is poured. If they are not educated, then even the smartest and safest drivers can still get into accidents.