by Ray Newman, radio and television commentator, attorney, educator, author

Sunday, August 9, 2009

SHOULDN'T CARS?

Each year in the U.S. there are over 6 million auto accidents that kill about 45,000 people and injure almost 3 million. The financial cost of these accidents exceeds $230,000,000,000.

For the purpose of reducing these horrific numbers, here is my list of Shouldn'ts?:

1. Shouldn't all cars be equipped with a horn that beeps auto- matically when the car is in reverse?

2. Shouldn't cars have a rear view camera to give the driver a clear view when he or she is backing up?

3. Shouldn't smoking be prohibited in moving cars, since smoke impedes a driver's vision whether windows are open or closed?

4. Shouldn't drivers be retested at specified ages (say, 50 and 70) to be certain that vision and reflexes are in satisfactory condition. Age naturally affects those two factors adversely. Haven't you seen elderly people who can barely walk and with impaired vision sitting scarily behind the wheel of a car?

5. Shouldn't a car that was used in a DUI incident be removed from the road for an appropriate period of time? (See my post, THE DUI CHARADE)

6. Shouldn't cars be made out of a less damaging and injuring material than metal (e.g., hardened rubber)?

7. Shouldn't the front lights of a car turn on automatically every time the windshield wiper is on?

8. Shouldn't a supplementar side view mirror be required on each side of a car to eliminate its blind spots?

9. Shouldn't it be required that animals be in the back of the car, comfortably harnessed?

10. Shouldn't wheel chains be required in snowy conditions?

11. Shouldn't cars have the capacity to blow warm air beneath the car's floor to melt snow and ice on the road?

12. Shouldn't bright headlights be made to automatically dim when they sense oncoming headlights?

13. Shouln't a warning on the dashboard show if any tire is dangerously over- or under-inflated?

14. Shouldn't a driver be prohibited from eating while driving? Or reading? Or writing?

Shouldn't we all welcome these changes?

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