So there have been all these news spots on lately about some new crash tests recently performed (by the NHTSA, I guess). Apparently some didn't fare so well when flung into a wall, especially the Blazer. Seems every month or so there is a news blitz of crash tests, roll-over tests and safety ratings, and it got me to thinking this time around; when was the last time that I heard anything on the news about the activity behind the wheel that lead to these incidents on the road? I thought back, and realized I couldn't think of the last report concerning accountability on the drivers part. Turns out I was hammered and my memory was pretty twisted, so this whole piece may be WAY off base. I think what really seemed weird this time was that the rating system is now presented as though the vehicles are aggressively hunting people down. They are now "THE DEADLIEST VEHICLES" (keep your kids inside!). There was spot after spot after spot about what manufacturers are doing and what they're not doing and what they need to do to make cars safer because there are so many on the road and people are dying, yet there is no mention anywhere of safe driving practices and what needs to be done to prevent collisions in the first place. It's like building better fire-proof houses so you can have a bonfire in your living room (a stretch, I know, but keep up). So I went poking around the NHSTA site, and found all the normal stuff about crash regs and such. But I also found a ton of info about impaired driving (including distracted & drowsy driving), aggressive driving, and new drivers. Seems like the site was pretty well-rounded when it came to generalvehicle safety, with plenty of stuff on safe vehicles AND safe operation. My question then, is why do you so rarely see this sort of thing discussed in the media? According to the site, 43,000 people died in collisions last year, so it seems topical. But, it's presented as though it is up to the manufacturers to keep that figure down, rather than the person operating the pedals. Do the folks in the media think we won't like it if we're told that WE are the one's behind all the death on the highway, and not the engineers in Detroit or Torrance? Anyway, I'm not going NEAR a Chevy dealership until that Blazer is less deadly! How dare them!
- posted
19 years ago