The Deadliest Weapon

Everybody has one, if you don't have one you want one. This weapon has been mass produced for close to 100 years, but its not classed as weaponry. Most of these do not resemble in any shape or form the classic weapons, but do not fool yourself, it most certainly is one. This weapon has been studied for years, its been redesigned for safety, but it still is a weapon. Its sleek, sexy, its been revered and collected. A lot of people purchase one based on its sex appeal. Have you guessed what weapon I'm talking about? Its none other than the common automobile.

In its early years of production, the car was the most deadliest form of transportation. With the wrong person behind the wheel, it still is. When the car was first mass produced, the consumer just accepted the risks. Now there are people employed to design safety devices to prevent deaths in car accidents. Compared to the original car the rolled off the production line in early years, our cars are far more safe, for example; airbags, seat belts, collapsible steering columns and crumple zones keep the modern driver safe. Granted all these devices are not fool proof, people still die in car accidents, but thanks to these devices the number of deaths from car accidents has declined. But all of these safety devices would not have been installed prior to the first motor safety laws that were passed in 1967.

Some would argue that a car is one of the safest modes of transport in today's society. I can agree with that, at least when every body behind the wheel is fully aware of their surroundings. When they're not, the car or truck transforms into a 2500-65000lbs projectile, this is why cars and trucks are the most deadliest weapon on today's market. Most drivers are competent enough to pay attention to others around their vehicle, but this isn't always the case. How many deaths per year are attributed to motor vehicle accidents?

The safest types of cars are not production vehicles. Racing vehicles are designed to be crashed, the forces that act on these vehicles are extreem and the car has to be designed to prevent the death of the driver. Granted that some race car drivers do die during races, but their deaths are not in vain, new safety devices are introduced to prevent more deaths from similar crashes. Also the drivers are wearing far more protective gear than the average civillian driver, they usually wear a fire suit, helmut, fire resistant gloves and boots, as well as a five point harness instead of the three point safety belt that all current production vehicles are equipped with.

Since the inception of the automobile, thousands of people have died from driver error. In my corner of the world we have a graduated licensing system which encourages more and more young people to take drivers education courses. The incentive is that you are allowed to take your first of two road tests four months earlier than with out a defensive driving course. All this is a good system that will help prevent some accidents, its not fool proof, but its a step in the right direction. In my opinion, the volume of drivers out on today's roads is increasing, which is increasing the chances of being involved in a car accident.

Next time you get behind the wheel of an automobile, please remember that you are behind the controls of a weapon and be responsible with it!