Imperial Valley Press

ARE YOU A HYPOCRITE?

(Nogales Herald)

The average motorist is an unconscious hypocrite. That's a strong characterization—but a little impersonal analysis will substantiate it.

How often have you roundly criticized some driver for an offense which you commit periodically yourself? How often have you taken comfort in the thought that accidents are caused by some reckless breed of motorists with whom you have nothing in common thus dodging the fact that only pure fool's luck has saved you from a crash on a dozen occasions? Have you ever attempted to get a ticket "fixed"—even though you pay lip service to the cause of aggressive, impartial law enforcement?

It is a fact that a large proportion of accidents are caused by the reckless ten per cent, but the other ninety per cent periodically take chances and are responsible for many of our annual auto deaths.

Who, for example, doesn't sometimes pass a car when the stretch of empty road that can be seen is too short for safety? Who doesn't occasionally succumb to the lure of excessive speed—even though he has little or nothing to do when his destination is reached? Who doesn't periodically neglect necessary repairs to brakes, lights or steering mechanisms, on the theory that he will get around to it when more convenient?

We'll go a good way toward reducing accidents when the average driver begins asking himself such questions and returning honest answers. Accident prevention, so far as it concerns the human element, is a personal, individual matter—and each individual has to really want to drive safely at all times before he can analyze his driving errors and correct them.