StricterTrafficLawCanPreventAccidents
Fromthehealthpointofviewwearelivinginamarvelous(不平凡的)age.Weareimmunizedfrombirthagainstmanyofthemostdangerousdiseases.Alargenumberofoncefatalillnessescannowbecuredbymoderndrugsandsurgery.Itisalmostcertainthatonedayremedieswillbefoundforthemoststubbornremainingdiseases.Theexpectationoflifehasincreasedenormously.Butthoughthepossibilityoflivingalongandhappylifeisgreaterthaneverbefore,everydaywewitnesstheincredibleslaughterofmen,womenandchildrenontheroads.Manversusthemotor-car!Itisanever-endingbattlewhichmanislosing.Thousandsofpeopletheworldoverarekilledorhorriblykilledeachyearandwearequietlysittingbackandlettingithappen.
Ithasbeenrightlysaidthatwhenamanissittingbehindasteeringwheel,hiscarbecomestheextensionofhispersonality.Thereisnodoubtthatthemotor-caroftenbringsoutaman’sveryworstqualities.Peoplewhoarenormallyquietandpleasantmaybecomeunrecognizablewhentheyarebehindasteering-wheel.Theyswear,theyareill-manneredandaggressive,willfulastwo-years-oldsandutterlyselfish.Alltheirhiddenfrustrations,disappointmentsandjealousiesseemtobebroughttothesurfacebytheactofdriving.
Thesurprisingthingisthatsocietysmilessobenignlyonthemotoristandseemstocondonehisbehaviour.Everythingisdoneforhisconvenience.Citiesareallowedtobecomealmostuninhabitablebecauseofheavytragic;townsaremadeuglybyhugecarparks;thecountrysideisdesecratedbyroadnetworks;andthemassannualslaughterbecomesnothingmorethanastatistic,tobeconvenientlyforgotten.
Itishightimeaworldcodewerecreatedtoreducethissenselesswasteofhumanlife.Withregardtodriving,thelawsofsomecountriesarenotoriouslylaxandeventhestrictestarenotstrictenough.Acodewhichwasuniversallyacceptedcouldonlyhaveadramaticallybeneficialeffectontheaccidentrate.Hereareafewexamplesofsomethethingsthatmightbedone.Thedrivingtestshouldbestandardizedandmadefarmoredifficultthanitis;allthedriversshouldbemadetotakeatesteverythreeyearsorso;theageatwhichyoungpeopleareallowedtodriveanyvehicleshouldberaisedto