Columns » Local Columns

Subscribe

Driver tips: Drive safe, stay alive

  • Print
  • •
  • •
  • Post a Comment
  • •
  • Favorite
  • •
  • Report an error Report error
    • Thank you for your submission.
      Error report or correction
      Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  
      Sending report
    • Close
  • •
  • Originally published May 24, 2008 at 11:43 p.m., updated May 24, 2008 at 11:43 p.m.

“The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.”

Once, in the late ’60s, I had to work a double shift on the police beat in Houston on a Memorial Day weekend.

And it turned out to be the deadliest weekend I ever saw as a reporter.

To my recollection, about two dozen people died that weekend, all of them in the midst of a bright pre-summer holiday, and most of them in traffic accidents. And that was just the total for an area within 50 miles of downtown Houston.

Since that time, I’ve seen the state of Texas come up with several slogans in an effort to prompt drivers to be more safety-conscious.

I remember “Stay Alive — Drive 55,” back before they reinstated the 70-mph highway speed limit. Then, there was one that went something like a simple “Arrive Alive,” as I recall.

And most recently, there’s been “Click it or ticket,” meaning if you’re caught without your seat belt fastened, you’re going to be in for a hefty fine.

On this unofficial beginning of the summer season, dedicated local police, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers are fanning out all over the state’s highways with a single goal: to keep us alive.

And, strange as it may sound, they’re doing that in spite of the fact that some of us do everything we can to flout the law.

Sadly, that often leads to death.

It’s really not that difficult to have a safe driving holiday weekend. We all know how, we just don’t always do it.

Obey the speed limit. That way, you don’t have to take your eyes off the road ahead just to look for law enforcement officers. You can concentrate your attention where it should be.

Go ahead and buckle up your seat and shoulder belts. I know we’ve heard stories about people who died because they were belted in, but the truth is that every study ever done says you’re way more safe if you stay restrained, inside your vehicle, than you are if you’re ejected from it.

And watch out for the other guy. Another old slogan I remember, and which is still used a lot, is “Drive Defensively,” and we should all do that.

If the other guy pulls something stupid, let it go. Don’t try to “get even” or speed up to give him or her a piece of your mind.

Just let it go. That way, you’ll avoid the possibility of an accident, and you can pray that the other driver won’t hurt himself or anyone else.

It’s all so simple, and it’s all been said so many times before.

This is just a reminder for all of us.

Drive safely, and let’s all pray that we see each other on Tuesday.

Jim Bishop is a senior editor for the Advocate. Leave him a message at 361-572-4262 or jbishop@vicad.com or comment on this column at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.



  • Print
  • •
  • •
  • Post a Comment
  • •
  • Favorite
  • •
  • Report an error Report error
    • Thank you for your submission.
      Error report or correction
      Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  
      Sending report
    • Close
  • •