Wiped Out – 45% are Teens!!
According to South African insurance statistics some time ago, 45% of all fatalities on our roads between 11PM and 6AM were teens. Some other statistics showed that teenagers are 10 times more likely to have an accident at night than during the day, and the odds rises to 14 times over weekends.
In fact, I checked the stats myself, and Saturday, Friday and then Sunday, in that order, are the worst times for fatal teen accidents, most of which tend to be single vehicle accidents where the vehicle is overturned. Although just my opinion, I would estimate that many, if not all of these accidents result from some period of target fixation followed by over-correcting in steering somehow, most probably at greater speed than the driver can cope with at the time; most probably not fully familiar with their vehicle’s power or its dynamics, and definitely not in emergency situations.
In random order, because life and accidents happen at random…
That means that every year in South Africa…
families are shattered, shocked and grieving,
many sets of friends are sending condolences,
perhaps bosses have to interview new job candidates,
at least 45 cars are insurance write offs,
at least R 112 599 are spent on insurance excess payments,
at least R 2 250 000 is spent on Intensive Care hospital treatment,
at least 45 emergency calls are made,
at least 225 emergency personnel get yet another teen scene to attend to,
at least 45 calls from the scene: “I’m so terribly sorry, he’s gone…he didn’t make it”,
at least 45 people will say “I still can’t believe it. I spoke to him just a few minutes ago!”.
At least 45 doctors will try their earthly best to save a life, most probably praying
“Please, God! Let just this ONE make it tonight!!!”.
Do you take enough precaution to better your odds?
Will you be that special one?
Do you have a guarantee?
I soooooooooo wish it doesn’t have to be you.
Not a day goes by that I do not wish I can save you ALL!
Thing is, we drive with our brain, not yet fully developed in the judgement/decision-making department, as a teen. Yes, you use the clutch with your Right Brain, the accelerator with your Left Brain, change gears with your Right Brain, etc.
We use our brain to think, then only do actions take place.
Even a simple thing such as picking up a mug to make coffee. You first have to think about the mug before your hand can respond by reaching out to pick it up…but which mug? More thinking. How is it that you suddenly find yourself in the act of making coffee? More thinking must have lead to a choice between coffee and tea, before/after picking up the mug, right?
It seems silly, but what seems so 100% natural, like making a cup of coffee, starts off with a recipe your brain has to learn first, making your very own cup of coffee.
Coffee is simple, right?
WRONG!!!
It’s not just about the coffee!
Try and remember alllllllllll the way back to making your first cup of coffee. It was really not that easy. Remember all the steps, all the brain signals and all the anxiety?
This, apart from the anxiety stuff like
What if I can’t stop pouring when the cup is full?
What if I burn myself? What if this, what if that…
How slow do I have to walk so the milk doesn’t spill out of the jug?
Will I be high enough to see into the mug? And, and, and, and….
Wellll, driving starts out pretty much like making that first cup of coffee, but it gets to be reasonably automatic later…to such an extent that you remember that last coffee you had instead of what it took to make it, right? You’ll remember the places you’ve been and probably will remember very little about the trip getting there. I’ll bet that you won’t remember every gear change you did while driving to work or that stunning party or cool new night club.
Please, please, please, PLEASE don’t EVER drop your guard and become a 45%’er.
Here’s wishing you many, many, many coffees, till the day you can sit and relax with a coffee on the stoep in your golden years, thinking back about how being sensible brought you safely to the point of having this particular coffee, OK?
TIP: The moment that you drive faster than your mind can process your interaction with events, is when anxiety sets in and trouble starts its upward spiral.
It happens VERY unexpectedly even if you’re paying close attention!
