Write of the article licence to drive is not a licence to kill
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There were observances throughout the U.S. last week marking the anniversary of the terrorist attack resulting in the destruction of the twin towers. I was at the one in Bluefield. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor, or the Battle of the Alamo, the terrorist attack of 9/11 probably will live on as a key event in our history.
But a back page article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph during the same period reported a decrease in national traffic fatalities to the low 30-thousands. The decrease exceeds the number of lives lost in 9/11. But the number of lives lost anyway still totals roughly three cities the size of Bluefield.
The number of lives lost over a 10-year period would more than decimate the population of West Virginia. Yet this massive loss of life barely raises an eyebrow, as though it were as natural as the sun rising or setting. But the sun doesn’t really rise and set, and that loss of life does not have to occur. A license to drive is not supposed to be a license to kill. We set high standards for private pilots, but allow virtually anyone to qualify for a license to drive a vehicle capable of causing more damage and loss of life than a light plane.
Bad drivers do not incite terror in our hearts, but they should.
We really need to get the blinders off and take a look at what is going on.