Carnage

The civilized world is outraged and horrified when something like the "Boston Marathon bombing" takes place. Hearing of three innocent people killed and hundreds injured takes us out of our Comfort Zone. Terrorism is a horrible thing, because it makes peaceful people uncomfortable and brings war-zone strife into neighborhoods.

(As a matter of perspective and reality, such incidents are much more common in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, even Israel and India. How blessed we are if we live where such incidents are rare occurrances. But the world would be a better place without any such horror.)

Also as a matter of perspective and reality, consider:

Yesterday across the Fruited Plain, probably 15 people were killed, and 1227 people injured in motor vehicle crashes that involved distracted driving. It's likely more people were killed and maimed yesterday by cell phone yakkers, than were killed and maimed in Boston by terrorists with bombs. And far more by people who were distracted in other ways, while driving.

Just as many people will be killed and injured today.  And tomorrow.  And the day after that, and the day after that, etc. ...

(That's based on 2009 statistics. In that year, 5474 people were killed and an estimated 448,000 people were injured in distracted-driving accidents. 995 of those fatalities - 2.7 per day - involved reportss of a cell phone as a distraction. Those NHTSA statistics can be found HERE (PDF file).)

Where's the outrage?!?

Yeah - I admittedly obsess about distracted drivers.  It's probably because I see so many of them every day.  Cyclists are extremely vulnerable - the only way for us to avoid being injured or killed is to avoid accidents, and distracted drivers are out there causing accidents!