Catholic Education and Car Accidents

No, I’m not saying that education in a Catholic school, or any religious school, is a traffic accident.  I’m just using a theory I learned in elementary school to every day life.  The Nuns drilled into our heads that we should avoid the “near occasion of sin” because this could lead to sin and subsequently pain in Purgatory.  So why not avoid the near occasion of an accident which can lead to pain, death, or at least a drain on your bank account.

In plain language don’t drive in the Left lane at a speed slower than prevailing traffic.  Most of the time you are just going to piss off everybody else and receive the one finger salute or get cut off by those who are delayed when they pass you.  On other occasions you may join the 2% of all accidents and 10.1% of fatalities.  Those are the statistics on head-on collisions.

You may be in perfect shape, not distracted by cell phones or lighting a cigarette, perfectly sober, and with 20/10 eyesight, but what about the person in the Left lane going the other direction.  You don’t know who they are or what their condition is but you do know that you are closer to them than you would be in the Right lane.  If that other driver is distracted, has a heart attack, or is drunk, you could be one of about 10,000 people who die in head-on crashes each year in the U.S.  Why risk it?

Some people believe they are going to single handedly slow everyone down.  First, that isn’t going to happen.  Second, the U.S. Department of Transportation says that going faster or slower than the average speed both increases your chance of an accident.   If you believe the speed is too high, or you just aren’t in a hurry, take another rout. 

And this applies to highways and city streets.  Sure, at 25 mph you probably wont die but you have a great chance of an unscheduled visit with your insurance company and mechanic.  You could also end up in court and paying for the other driver.  It is called “contributory negligence”.

So listen to the Nuns and avoid the “near occasion of” collision.  Your goal in a car is to get from one place to another.  If you want the speeds changed then call your state official.