Remember when you were in high school and all you could think about was getting your driver’s license? The mere thought of the freedom that it was going to bring you was enough to study your butt off for that written exam and harass your parents every day to practice for the road test. But how many of us actually retain all those rules and regulations the minute we finish that test and walk out of the room? Well, according to a recent study done by GMAC Insurance reported on cnnmoney.com, not many of us! “More than one in five Americans -- some 36.9 million -- are not fit to drive and would fail a driving test if asked to take one today.”

I’m sure this is not surprising considering what we see on the roads today between people speeding (12,545 deaths were attributed to increases in speed limits across the US between 1995 and 2005), running red lights (factors into more than 800 deaths annually), and don’t get started with the cell phones while driving (crash risk is four times higher when driver is using a hand-held cell phone). And I don’t believe that it really has to do with the fact that we don’t know the rules, well at least most of them anyway, I think we just ignore them. Apparently more so in the Northeastern portion of the US than anywhere else because the survey indicated that, “drivers in the Northeast scored lowest, while respondents in the Midwest fared best. The worst place, no surprise to anyone who drives there, is Washington, D.C.”

In my opinion people should have to be re-tested every few years to retain the right to drive. I know this approach sounds like a pain in the neck but consider the fact that, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 33,808 people died from car accidents in 2009 alone. So just try to think about some of these stats the next time you get behind the wheel or pay your ridiculous car insurance premium!
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Jennifer Ulrich

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  1. so true!!!!!!!!!!!!! But the flip side - is the law enforcement should be alert and responding to these infractions instead of sitting talking to the road crews that are working on telephoone lines etc. It's a waste of tax papers money and not helping to bring these satics down.

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  2. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is just one of Obama's slush funds for his re-election campaign and to pay for Obamacare.

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