The importance of context and memory

From Distracted Driving: America's "Deadly Epidemic" by Carl M. Cannon. It is important to keep things in context and to recall past realities as we confront our contemporary one.

In 1928, Parker was appointed registrar of motor vehicles in the state of Massachusetts. He may or may not have been an actual technophobe, but he was definitely leery of automobiles -- and mistrustful of drivers. They were just too dangerous.

The year Parker assumed office, the United States had reached a dubious milestone: the annual number of deaths on the nation’s roadways surpassed 25,000. Parker’s office reported that 715 of those fatalities occurred in Massachusetts; the state’s top automotive regulator wanted to lower that number. But how?

Initially, Parker focused on speeding. “It is the swift tempo of our modern life,” he said in 1929, “that is responsible for so many motorist casualties.”

Perusing the newspapers of the day, it’s apparent that George Parker possessed an easier talent for the pithy quote than for building consensus for change. At a time when others were calling for more secure automobiles and safer roadways, Parker’s emphasis was on making it more difficult to obtain (and keep) a driver’s license.

“What a large number of our drivers need today is not better road conditions or better mechanical equipment,” he explained. “What they need is better mental equipment.”

Context: In 1928, the actual number of car deaths was 26,557 from a population of 120 million. In 2011, we had 32,367 deaths from a population of 312 million. A 20% increase in car deaths but 260% increase in population. The death rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled fell from 15.36 to 1.1 and the fatalities per 100,000 people fell from 22.0 to 10.4.