Car accidents related to both speeding and driving while under the influence have been a rising issue here in Las Vegas. The State of Nevada has reported 382 traffic fatalities in just 2021 which is enough for one person to die each day of the year. According to statistics it was a 18% increase from 2020. Driving is starting to become a very scary thing. There are too many road rages and people always in a rush to get somewhere, as well as people driving drunk or under the influence of drugs. Las Vegas may be a party city, but that doesn't excuse people from driving recklessly while endangering their lives and others. I lived in Germany for 3 years. While there I had to take the driving test for Germany to get both my drivers license for Germany as well as my international license for all of Europe. The way Germans are brought up is to share the road. Passing is only done from the left and slow traffic is moved to the right. Germans allow merging traffic in and use signaling to inform drivers to slow down or move over with flashing headlights or using emergency lights. Germans stop at yellow lights as if they are red and running a yellow light is an offense. It is amazing how different the dynamic is with how Americans drive compared to Germans. Obtaining a license cost more money and the test itself is much harder than in the states. The condition of your vehicle also plays a significant role where as here in the states you just need a smog, in Germany it is a much thorough inspection. The inspectors check your breaks, tire thread, fluids, and much more. License plates are also required on both front and rear of your vehicle and Germans have cameras on every intersection as well as many parts of the autobahn. The police in Germany do not pull you over for speeding. Instead the cameras are set to catch speeding vehicles and a snap shot of your car with plate is sent to your registered address with a ticket. I believe that in order to change the way people drive in Las Vegas is to first implement more restrictions to keep bad cars off the road. The next thing would be to teach drivers how to properly drive and punish those that make offenses by revoking their drivers license and severely punishing offenders who drive illegally. Either way great change is needed all over the United States as no one should ever lose their life on the road.
Thank you for the comparison to another country :-)
ReplyDeleteI traveled through Germany almost seventeen years ago and saw the drivers' adherence of leaving the left lane for passing only despite the highway having only two lanes.
Your ideas of more restrictions to keep bad cars off the road, heavier punishment for offenses, and better education are excellent to reinforce the statement: "driving is a privilege, not a right"!
I envy you...as somebody of deep German descent, I still aim to go at some point and see where my family came from.
DeleteTrains that run on time and interstates that flow are another perk.
I agree, the US in general is a dangerous place to drive.
ReplyDeleteThe police need to be way stricter that's why there is so many accidents. I know this girl who has been pulled over 4 times in 5 months driving on no license or permit and they just give her a citation, like what???? Maybe if they got people off the road that shouldn't be on it, we wouldn't have so many accidents.
ReplyDeleteIt's gotten to the point where I just outright refuse to run errands in the middle of the day, when other people are out; I go super early in the morning, or late on a Tuesday/Thursday night.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's maybe partially because I got used to driving slower when I still lived in Honolulu, or if people over here have just gotten worse about it but, since moving back here, it's gotten really bad. People are just so reckless behind the wheel, and don't seem to have any concern about whether or not somebody else gets killed or not because of it.
Yes, there has to be a change. I am tired of seeing people drive on the street like if they were driving on the highway. I am actually thinking of getting myself a dash cam.
ReplyDeleteI agree, my biggest fear while driving is when someone is switching into the lane I'm also switching in.
ReplyDeletePeople are really terrible drivers. I feel like most drivers aren't even thinking about the grand scheme of things. No one is considerate of traffic flow or aware of the risks of their actions; Everyone just wants to get to where they're going with no regard to their surroundings.
ReplyDeleteIt has been said that German drivers are some of the best. I guess it is because of the system they have in place. It is similar here in the U.S. as well, but maybe they follow the rules more than American drivers. The accident rate here in Vegas is out of control though. Something has to be done to stop all these reckless driving.
ReplyDeleteHaving a good system is all good and well, but if no one enforces them, and there is no consequence when the rules are broken, then it doesn't matter how good the system is. It's like having no system. It not the system, it the enforcement people get away with doing the bad stuff so they keep doing it, also different states have tolerated different habits they move to another state they take their habits with them good or bad.
ReplyDeleteOh my god yes! Just last Saturday after class, I was heading home and this "Witch" of a woman just decided she didn't want to be in the left lane anymore and came over to the middle lane and almost sideswiped me! Ohhhh I was mad. I had to slam on my breaks and my bag went flying. I cussed her out in my car. I was pissed.
ReplyDeleteDriving is something that brought me so much anxiety it took me years to even want to get a license. I was in an accident this year sitting in traffic a car just runs right in the back of me. They were going so fast that they were not able to completely brake before hitting me. I have not driven on the highway since.
ReplyDeleteThis explains a lot of my fears related to driving even if I follow the rules of the road. I am worried by drunk drivers and people not following the rules. Its why I prefer to take the bus or use uber most of the time.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always told me when I was first learning to drive, to watch out for the drivers around me rather than only focusing on my own driving because chances are, the surrounding drivers are the ones you need to look out for.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is from Macedonia and she has told me about how things like that are so different and the way that people drive is one of the things that is better. Mexico, especially in Mexico City, are very bad... Think California traffic on "steroids", that is how bad it is for them.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like we hear about car accident every other day. Better to be late than never!
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