Not far from the place where I work there was a horrifying accident. From what I gather a tour bus traveling north on Interstate 81 in Pittston Township swerved across the grass median into southbound lanes and collided with an SUV, killing two and injuring three of the SUV’s five passengers on August 4th.
This is NOT the SUV in the accident with the bus.
I drive that stretch of road every day and I can not for the life of me figure out how it happened. But it did and two are dead.
It got me to thinking about one of my pet peeves. People who drive insanely fast. Now I don’t know that the cause of that accident was speeding. But everyday I drive I am amazed to see the callous disregard for life that some of these morons display.
I-81 is like a magnet for these would be race car drivers. Pull out to pass someone who is going 45 and before you can say twisted burning wreckage some goof is on your bumper flashing his lights beeping his horn and riding your bumper. Because why? Because I’m going five miles over the speed limit and he wants to go 85. Or maybe it’s just because he wants to be ahead of me.
Here’s a little piece of information for you pretend Dale Earnhardt Jr’s. The Governor’s highway safety association does a study on the number of speeding related deaths. From 1995 to 2004 the percentage of speed related fatalities has gone down.
One percent!
Even with all the new safety features, air-bags in every corner of the car, anti-lock brakes, sturdier construction to make cars more crash worthy, 14 thousand people are crushed, splattered and incinerated in high-speed crashes. It doesn’t take too much brain power to figure out that speed kills.
I wish some of these speed freaks would take a stroll through a junkyard someday. Spend a little extra time looking at windshields smashed by heads, take note of the red stains and other evidence of violent death.
I used to drive fast. But every day now it seems I drive a bit slower. Just an old fart in the way I guess.
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