Tribute to Stupidity.

If I should, by chance, die in an auto accident, do not put up a roadside memorial. Every place you see one of those, someone has done something stupid while driving and someone has died as a result. The fatality is often the driver who made the error in the first place.

Grieving and well meaning relatives or friends put up a cross or a wreath at the spot where a loved one has died in an accident. While it may make them feel a little better for putting up a memorial that can be seen by the public passing by, I look on them as a tribute to someone's stupidity.

As one who believes in driving safely, I carefully read the newspaper or listen to the news accounts of traffic fatalities to see if there is a cause listed for the accident. Though most accidents are described as "still under investigation" and no result of that investigation is ever publicized, there are often enough clues in the news story to draw a conclusion. Nearly always the account is accompanied by the phrase, "the victim was not wearing a seat belt." This is especially true when "the victim was ejected from the vehicle."

Auto accidents can have many causes, but they almost always boil down to one thing; someone made a mistake. On the whole, inattention is probably the biggest cause of accidents: Chatting on a cell phone, playing with the radio, putting on makeup, reading the newspaper while driving, swatting at unruly children in the back seat, or just plain daydreaming. Driving is a serious occupation. Your life and the lives of those around you depend on your attention to the task of driving.

We all make little mistakes behind the wheel, and sometimes we make big mistakes that we get away with. Now and then, a driver makes an error that gets them in big trouble and someone, usually the driver themselves, is seriously injured or dies as a result.

Auto accidents can have many causes, but they almost always boil down to one thing; someone made a mistake.

Have you ever looked at the skid marks left at the scene of a traffic fatality? It's usually pretty easy for the layman to figure out what happened.

A recent single-vehicle accident just south of Duluth on MN 23 showed skid marks going one way, then the other way, a spot where a tire had apparently blown out, and the resulting rollover that went quite a ways up a hill. A teen-age driver died in that one, probably the result of too much youthful enthusiasm and too much speed.

Another near Cloquet appeared as though the driver made a left turn in front of oncoming traffic and the victim's car was broadsided with multiple fatalities as the result.

At a recent accident scene on I-35 in Duluth, the driver must have missed their freeway exit, tried to make the exit by driving across the berm, but was still going too fast, the car rolled over and "the victim was ejected from the vehicle." That fatality has apparently generated a local safety campaign, with bumper stickers that read "Buckle Up for Billy."

Despite the 16-year-old driving age and the 21-year-old legal drinking age, humans are generally not mature enough to handle either task rationally until they are in their mid-20s. It is highly unlikely that the ages for either activity will be raised, but there are plenty of studies that back up that statement. Consequently, there will continue to be a greater share of accidents in the under-25 age group, most caused by lack of experience or stupidity.

Proper education will help, and by that I mean not just knowing the laws, but understanding the consequences of exceeding the physical limits of piloting a vehicle that weighs 3000 pounds or more; in the case of pickup trucks or SUVs, much more. How long does it take to safely stop your vehicle on dry pavement? Wet pavement? Snow or ice? Will the tires keep you from sliding off the road on a slippery corner? Does the other traffic really see you? Are you prepared to take evasive action if another driver is not paying attention to the task of driving? Know your vehicle. Know its limits. I recommend additional driving schools, including racing schools and rally driving schools, so that the driver understands what can occur when the limit of traction is reached.

Though many people still subscribe to that "bigger is better" myth when it comes to a potential accident situation, the physics of traction, weight, center of gravity, and centrifugal force generally favor a smaller car in avoiding an accident.

Regardless of what you drive, always wear a seat belt, because you never know what might happen that could create an accident situation. And tell your relatives not to put up one of those Tributes to Stupidity if you do become one more piece of data in the traffic fatality column.