Getting behind the wheel of a car remains the most dangerous thing most of us do each day.
As a stark reminder, between July 5 and 10 this year, B.C. saw 19 deaths in motor vehicle crashes, including the death in Pitt Meadows of a 91原创 motorcyclist.
These were multi-vehicle and single-vehicle accidents, involving lone individuals and families. Each tragedy was different, but all of them involved motor vehicles.
There鈥檚 no getting around in B.C. for most people without using a car. We rely on them for work and school, for shopping and soccer practice, and visits to the dentist. Even if we don鈥檛 own a car, we share the road with them whenever we ride on a bus or a bike, or step onto a crosswalk.
The factors that make a fatal crash more likely are well known 鈥� a third of fatal crashes in B.C. over the last decade were linked to drugs or alcohol, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.
Beyond that, there鈥檚 distracted driving, failing to wear seat belts, and as always, excessive speed.
Knowing what we know about what causes these crashes, why do they keep happening?
One reason, over and above all the others, is that we treat driving casually, even contemptuously.
It鈥檚 easy and routine. We let teenagers do it. It鈥檚 a baseline requirement for many jobs. For most of us, it requires only a single certification, obtained once and never renewed. There is no need for retraining or retesting. If you passed the driver鈥檚 test in a small town at the age of 16, you can drive anywhere, on snow and ice, through busy urban roads or on multi-lane highways, in a wide variety of vehicles 鈥� including bus-sized RVs 鈥� for the rest of your life.
It may be too much to ask that we gain a healthy respect for the power we assume every time we put our hands on the wheel and our feet on the gas pedal of a car.
We鈥檙e in charge of thousands of pounds of metal and plastic, easily capable to driving at speeds of well over a hundred kilometres an hour. Holding us back is our common sense, our skill, and a series of painted lines, reflective signs, and illuminated lights.
Put that way, it ought to sound ominous. Everyday use makes the fearsome seem ordinary.
Every once in a while, though, consider how much power is in the vehicles we use so casually.
And slow down a bit.
