Our Opinion: Simple safety tips to follow
Saturday, July 4, 2009 8:58 PM PDT
It really is this simple: Slow down. The slogan may seem simple, perhaps just another cursory aside to an often overused warning.
But the sentiment carries power when considered against the backdrop of crash statistics, and it attains force when delivered along a local angle.
The local angle is U.S. Highway 95, and the safety theme gathers power when even a casual observer reviews latest statistics from the Malheur County Traffic Safety Commission.
Last week, the Argus Observer printed a story regarding the commission’s recent report regarding its safety plan for 2009 to 2010.
A single, unifying theme was evident. Stretches of U.S. Highway 95 are dangerous.
In the last few years, more than 200 crashes were reported on this roadway, many of them on the stretch of asphalt near the Oregon-Idaho border to Jordan Valley and Jordan Valley to Rome and from Rome to Burns Junction.
The cause of the crashes is not a mystery.
No, the reason for many of the accidents revolves around a single theme: driver inattention.
Drivers fall asleep at the wheel and crash. Drivers drink too much alcohol and crash.
Drivers go too fast and crash.
The holiday weekend just ending may bring even more tragic news from that stretch of highway or other Oregon roadways.
The real tragic piece to all of these accidents is the fact they are easy to avoid.
Don’t drink and drive. Slow down. Make sure you are rested before getting behind the wheel.
They are simple answers to a simple problem, but those safety tips are often ignored.
There exists no firm reason for Oregon’s stretch of U.S. Highway 95 to be considered a dangerous piece of asphalt. The road is fairly well maintained. There are no high mountain passes to move through in winter weather.
No, it really all comes down to using basic safety tips and paying attention.
Sounds simple, but sometimes the simplest things prove to be the hardest to master.
