There is a clear reason why every orphaned child’s parents in movies and television “died in a car crash.”The danger of fast cars has been seen for decades. A great example of media influence caused by the danger of fast and selfish driving can be seen in older media, even in influential books like ‘The Great Gatsby’.
Modern cars still hold the same danger as they did previously, even if we have developed more precautions. Because one thing will never change: people. People find joy in fast cars, speeding down the freeway without a care in the world. However, speeding is one of the most selfish actions of our kind.
The sentiment that speeding is one of the true horrors of humanity alone sounds cynical, but the reality is cynical. Traffic fatality rate in the U.S. is 12.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Cars are an extreme danger, and it is said that for every 10 mph of increased speed, the risk of dying in a crash doubles.
An article entitled ‘How Many People Die from Car Accidents Each Year?’ explained, “Speeding was a factor in 29 percent of fatal car accidents in 2020, and has been a factor in more than 25 percent of crash deaths over the past decade.”
7,507 people are injured in the United States in car accidents every day. The issue of car-related deaths is one that is not restricted to the United States, it is rampant throughout the entire world. Each year 1.35 million people die each year from roadway-related incidents.
Loss of life aside, there are a number of life-changing injuries that are a result of car accidents. Car accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries, which often can result in lifetime paralysis.
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So, even if someone does not die on the scene, they might be left with medical conditions that feel worse than death, such as a persistent vegetative state.
That being said, people continue to speed regardless of death and injuries that they are more likely to cause by their self-absorbed view. People everywhere develop their own selfish reasons to justify the possibility of harming other people: “I need to get to work faster,” “I have a baby shower to get to,” or “I can’t miss the baseball game.”
When it comes to human life, in no way is it as important as your responsibilities, needs, or wants. There is a clear reason for the need for a speed limit and the consequences that come with it.
Some people may argue, “those who do not speed put others in danger.”For example, when you are on the highway and everyone else is speeding, it is safer to drive at the speed of traffic. A driver going the speed limit, surrounded by those going ten or more over the speed limit, is a dangerous situation.
However, this idea only furthers the fact that speeding is an awful part of human nature. Speeding is one of the most common peer pressures in society; the fault of speeding is a collective mistake.
Speeding diminishes your amount reaction time. When everyone speeds, there is a road full of people unable to make safe decisions.
We know humans are selfish creatures. We see it in everything we do: how we treat the Planet; how we disregard human life; how we lie, cheat, and steal. So fixing the issues that result from speeding and the danger of cars feels almost impossible.
People are going to speed regardless of laws. People will speed regardless of the possibility and reality of who they will hurt, and that is why speeding is one of the most selfish actions of our kind.
