I'm almost got hit today by some imbecile in 85 POS. The fool was driving in reverse out of a very narrow apartment complex. Since I was about 50 feet away from him and directly in his path, I saw the potential accident unfolding. I watched him driving backwards (I say driving backwards because he wasn't backing up slowly like most folks do: dude was going fast in reverse) and wondered if he saw me or was simply planning to plow through me. When I realized he was clueless to my presence, I tooted on my horn and narrowly averted the disaster (although, if my car could survive a bus collision, I had nothing to fear from this guy). The guy immediately turned around and gave me a look like it was my fault for being in his way--and that's when I saw he was talking on a cell phone.

The automotive industry has made great safety strides over the past 50 years. Thanks to air bags, steels frames, and crash test dummies, cars today are much safer than anything the 1950s had to offer. People can get in horrific accidents and live to tell about it because engineers study and find ways to make cars safer. But I wonder if driving on the road is safer than it was 50 years ago. With cell phones, GPS devices, and DVD players in cars, I would think drivers today are nowhere near as focused on the road as precious generations. If I really wanted to make an intelligent argument, I'd compare percentage of drivers today they get into an accident compared to drivers of previous generations--but I'm just too lazy. I find it hard to believe that folks today are better drivers than our grandparents--there's just too many distractions.

I wonder if all the advances in automotive safety make driver less safety conscious. Did people fear and respect the automobile more back in the 50s because cars had so few safety devices? Back then, if you got into a wreck, there was a much greater chance at serious injury because cars didn't have safety devices like seat belts. Riders flew through windshields and left chunks of flesh on the asphalt when they landed.

But today, most people aren’t thrown from their car in a wreck. Even if one is too stupid to wear a seatbelt, most of the time they're saved by airbags. I think everyone knows this--they know how safe cars are. Fifty years ago, would people be willing to watch a movie in their car when they knew how dangerous vehicles are?

A few years ago someone hit my mom while talking on his cell phone. You've seen the stories and heard the reports of people died while sending text messages. I even recall an NBA player getting into a wreck because he was watching porn, masturbating, and driving all at the same time. Say whatever you want about that, but I guarantee you no one was able to watch DVDs and drive back in the 50s.

I don't have any hard data to back this up (it's that whole lazy thing again) and I only have about a dozen years or so of driving experience. But I think people are becoming worse and worse drivers. I'm not just saying that 'cause I gotta fight the idiots stuck in SoCal traffic on a daily basis; I truly believe that people don't fear accidents as much as they used to. Folks are far more aggressive on the roads, rarely being considerate towards other drivers. Kids are being handed licenses like they're sticks of gum. Meanwhile, distractions are everywhere. And above it all, I don't think people are afraid for their lives anymore when driving in a car. It's like they know they're going to be safe because the automotive industry won't let them die.

But what do I know? I'm just a guy who sees things and likes to complain--but I'll love to see hard evidence to support my claim. If I had any sort of motivation or work ethic, I'd look into this. Maybe I can convince someone else to do it...I wonder if I can get a government grant for it.

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