Road deaths skyrocket and there’s hardly any uproar

We killed 970 of our fellow drivers and passengers on S.C. public highways in 2016. The official announcement will likely be accompanied by the same rhetoric that greeted the previous dismal report. Politicians, safety officials, and law enforcement personnel saying politically- correct things and decrying such a dismal year. But there will be no action.

There will be a lot of finger-pointing and blame-shifting.

“It was the bad weather.”

“With the lower gasoline prices more people were driving more miles.”

“It’s the kids and those smart phones.”

Perhaps the electronic signs were supposed to have a magical impact.

Please, we don’t need education. We need enforcement.

Not every traffic violation results in an accident or a fatality. However, many of those 970 people would be alive if someone hadn’t been breaking the law.

That’s eight deaths every three days, a Charleston church massacre twice a week.

Can you imagine the public uproar if, three days after Charleston, the same thing happened in Columbia? Then, 4 days later in North Augusta? Then in Myrtle Beach? All year long?

So, I ask, where is the public uproar over highway deaths? Are we numb to the carnage?

Who were the assassins? They were soccer moms late for practice, hard-working dads too long at happy hour, or friends separated for 10 minutes.

The weapons weren’t automatic rifles; they were automatic transmissions. Their victims were just as dead.

What am I willing to do to lower the casualty count? With what number would I be satisfied? Suppose we could drop this year’s total to 500? Would that be great? Why do we have to be content with any number of casualties caused by drivers breaking the law?

Traveling U.S. 17 or U.S. 501 is almost inevitable. I estimate 80 percent to 90 percent of the drivers exceed the posted speed limits, many by 10 miles per hour, or more. When traffic backs up, preventing speeding, the bumper-riding, lane-changing frenzy takes over. Yet, very seldom is anyone pulled over.

Driving five miles at 50 mph takes 6 minutes; at 60 mph, 5 minutes. Are 60 seconds important enough to endanger dozens of drivers along the way? If you hit a red light, you lose the 60 seconds, anyway.

But let’s focus on one particular cause of accidents and fatalities: DUI. There may be extenuating and mitigating circumstances for other traffic crimes, but there is no excuse for driving under the influence. Punishment should be swift and harsh. How many DUI incidents are second offenses? Those are particularly heinous.

In our war against drugs, we go after not only the user, but the pusher. Why don’t we do that with DUI? Businesses that promote the use of alcohol by a potential driver are as guilty as the pusher that sells to an addict.

So, again I ask, where is the public uproar?

In the recent election campaign, how many candidates even mentioned highway safety, let alone proposed a solution? Why don’t we demand it of them?

We have grown numb to the most vicious killers in our society - us.

The writer lives in Conway.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Road deaths skyrocket and there’s hardly any uproar."