Road death doesn’t have a preferred age, gender, race, class or faith.
It doesn’t care how fit you are, how happy you are, how clever you are or how popular you are.
It doesn’t care where you live, how kind you are, how funny you are or how successful you are.
It doesn’t care if you have your whole life ahead of you, if you’re about to get married, if you’re a parent, if it’s your birthday or if you’re about to go on holiday.
It doesn’t care.
We’re urged to look after ourselves, eat well, not smoke, drink in moderation.
Most of us try our best to stay fit and healthy and look after our appearance, because we want to live our best life. A long life.
But we don’t always take the same conscientious approach when we use the roads.
As motorists, we often complacently climb behind the wheel and feel a sense of removal from the world.
We don’t think ‘I’m about to drive a machine capable of killing people today, so I must take extra care and pay attention.’
We don’t think ‘I could kill somebody,’ ‘I could ruin somebody’s life,’ ‘I could go to prison.’
We don’t believe any of that will happen to us.
Yet we wouldn’t run down the street with a machete in our hand. If we had to carry this type of weapon, capable of killing or maiming another human being or ourselves, we’d handle it with the greatest care.
Yet road death is one of the biggest killers worldwide. It’s the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. It’s more likely to take your life than a knife.
It strikes, often when least expected, allowing no time to prepare.
It doesn’t care that you didn’t get a chance to say ‘goodbye,’ ‘I love you’ or ‘I’m sorry.’
It doesn’t care that you had a future, a family and friends.
It doesn’t care.
Let’s change things. Next time we get behind the wheel, let’s be the bigger person. Let’s make sure that we care.
Source: Rebecca Morris – LinkedIn
