While the novel Coronavirus takes its toll on the United States, traffic and auto accidents are reaching record lows. This makes it the ideal time to reflect on how impactful kindness could be on our highways.
Aggressive driving is an epidemic reaching disturbing proportions of people. It kills thousands and is responsible for severe injuries to thousands more.
Our highway system is a ticking time bomb. Beyond this pandemic and the current crisis we find ourselves under, we are always angry behind the wheel. Some drivers get so angry at one another; they resort to fights and shootouts.
The Insurance Information Institute found that aggressive driving played a role in 56 percent of fatal crashes from 2003 through 2007. That was more than a decade ago, you can guarantee it has only gotten worse.
Driving should be enjoyable, not a time of anguish. Right now, there are enough people dying, maybe it’s time to be kind while we drive. Maybe this is our turning point. Let the person in that switched lanes too soon. Let the driver merge instead of trying to pass them. Don’t follow so close to the car in front of you. Let’s start a campaign to be more human on our roads.
The situation the world is currently in is a great excuse to be kind. Next time you’re out driving, think about the difficult reality we’re living in. Instead of causing more lives to be lost in fatal car accidents, bringing kindness to our roads could save countless lives.
We are experiencing one of the most trying times in the 21st century. The COVID-19 Pandemic is leaving us withdrawn to our rooms, conversating with our feline friends, and dreading the loneliness of those four walls.
Now, more than ever, it is time to be kind. There are millions of Americans scraping by on their last dollar and millions more beyond that last dollar already.
We Americans seem to have built a stigma of rudeness and judgment around ourselves. Only around Christmas do we preach about compassion and understanding, and even then, we’re fighting each other for a T.V. at the shopping malls.
This isn’t to say that I’m not guilty of said extravagancies, we all are. But maybe for the first time in our country’s history, we should care about each other.
This virus is killing thousands of people, and yet we continue to argue, yell, and misunderstand one another. We read headlines that strike fear and project hate. The right slanders the left and the left curses the right. Underneath our transparent cloak of nonsense, we’re all downright rude.
Why is that? Why can’t we agree to disagree and forget it all happened? Especially right now, we have bigger fish to fry. Mankind is at a crossroads, but we’re too caught up in our endeavors to think about how others are feeling. We are currently living in, what will soon be, a history textbook that our children’s children will be quizzed on.
So, while all this is happening and we reside mainly within the comfort of our homes, we should all try to be kind. Next time you take the kids out for a drive, roll the windows down and enjoy yourself. Be patient, be kind, and be good to people behind the wheel and in life.
