House Editorial: Carelessness leads to crashes, crashes lead to concern
In the past month, there have been three JMU students who have been hit by cars, one of which is still in the hospital after being struck on Jan. 29. A JMU administrative assistant, Larue Simmons, was killed in a car accident as she was pulling out of a parking lot a few weeks ago. Last Saturday eight people were killed while watching a street race in Prince George’s County, Md.
Also last Saturday, a friend of one of The Breeze staff members was killed while walking across the street near Virginia Tech’s campus. Christine McNabb, the victim, had everything going for her. She was a beautiful 20-year-old who was so ambitious that she wanted to be an engineer for NASA one day. Now her dreams can’t come true because a driver without a license or insurance ended her life.
On Tuesday night, a car crash on I-81 killed two people and injured three more when a tractor-trailer collided with a van near mile marker 244. We have to wonder how lackadaisical a driver could possibly be to cross a median strip and as many as three lanes of traffic.
All of these accidents signify a traumatizing trend that should not be happening in the first place.
Whether we are behind the wheel or crossing the street on our own two feet, we need to pay the utmost attention to our surroundings. Take care to fully judge the amount of time it will take you to cross the street and wait for a considerable and safe gap in traffic. Don’t just rush into the street and dodge all the cars like a real-life Frogger. Pedestrians also need to cross the street at crosswalks so they draw more attention to themselves; drivers are paying more attention at intersections.
Let’s remember that drivers shouldn’t be speeding anyway. They should be keeping in-car distractions to a minimum—not changing music, text messaging or talking on the phone while driving—so they can be aware of what’s happening outside their car.
Police must pay more attention to traffic and speeding violations, and need to crack down on violators, giving them the utmost penalties when necessary. More thorough laws should be passed to punish text-messagers and cell phone-talkers, and officers should enforce these more consistently. However, police officers can’t have eyes at all intersections and on all roadways. More cameras need to be placed at intersections and on roadsides to assist officers in catching lawbreakers. Speed limit signs should be posted more frequently along roadsides, so drivers have no excuse for not following the speed limits, and will hopefully follow them more closely.
Accidents have been hitting a little too close to home than we would like, and we have become more aware that there is a severe problem that needs to be addressed.
