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Did You Know
. ..
that in the United States drunk drivers ki li
more individuals
each year than die from all crimes
involving murder, rape, robbery and
assault?
that accidents in the developed world are
the fourth most important cause of death,
exceeded only by heart disease, cancer
and stroke?
that accidents in t he developed world are
t he leading cause of death among all
persons age 1 to about 40?
t hat far more accidents occur in the home
than in places of employment?
cise, sleep well and have
a positive mental attitude and
yet suddenly be "the sickest man
in town" if you get hit by a
truck!
Why Ac cidents?
Why
the terrible waste of life and
limb in so many varieties of tragic
acc ide n ts?
Why
the massive
amount of human sutfering-the
permanently scarred and crippled,
the widows and orphans, the mil-–
lions of lost work hours, the
hundreds of millions of dollars,
pounds or marks needlessly spent
because of accidents?
The answer varíes, of course,
with each type of accident.
Not surprisingly, cer tain types of
people are accident prone. And
others are more prone to accidents
in certain situations.
As a Royal Bank of Canada
newsletter points out: "Being in a
bad humour is a dangerous state. A
person in a cheerful, kindly, bappy
mood is Iess likely to incur an acci–
dent than one in a mood of discon–
tent, grief or despair. When we are
irritated, feeling below par or frus-
16
trated, we have to be extra
careful in everything we do,
for these feelings make us sitting
ducks for accidents."
People in bad moods are funda–
mentally
breaking
the second great
spiritual law of our Creator:
"Thou
shalt !ove thy neighbour as
thy–
self."
As regular
Plain Truth
readers
know, God has revealed in that
book we call the Holy Bible a
WAY
of life. He has revealed
LA
ws
of life
that operate
automatically-just
like the law of gravity. When we
break these laws, they break us-in
the form of broken bornes, broken
friendships, broken careers and
dreams-and often in the form of
broken bodies and broken bones
from accidents.
As we proceed to look at ditfer–
e n t types of accidents-their
causes
and their
cure-think on
this principie.
For, in each case,
spiritual
LA
ws
are almost certain–
ly also being broken. And this vio–
latían
must be repented of
It
must stop
in arder for the acci–
dents themselves to stop occur–
ring.
Auto Wrec ks
The number-one
cause
of auto
wrecks is drunk driving. Every 23
minutes, someone in the United
States is killed in an accident
involving a drunk driver.
On a typic"al Saturday, studies
have found, one of every
1O
driv–
ers is drunk. But of every 2,000
drunk drivers, only one is arrest–
ed-and stiff punishment is
meted out in only a fraction of
these cases!
Authorities agree that
drunk driving is the most
socially acceptable violent crime
in the United States. God calls
it a capital sin! Sorne judges
and jurors are far too tolerant
of the drunken driver. Being reg–
ular drinkers themselves, they
tend to say, "There, but for the
grace of God, go
I."
In sorne Scandinavian coun-
tries, a driver arrested with only
half
the amount of alcohol the
United States permits is consid–
ered too drunk to drive. And he
faces a
mandatory jail term up
to 21 days!
In Switzerland, tough
laws, stringent enforcement and
an effective public information
campaign against alcoholism really
works. There are far fewer highway
fatalities due to drunkenness.
Obviously the United States,
Britain and many other countries
need to follow suit. And we as indi–
viduals must learn the importance
of sobriety and self-discipline–
especially when behind the wheel
of an automobile.
Beside being completely sober,
totally alert and cautious, here are
seven basic rules
for highway safe–
ty.
l. Assume that at least sorne near–
by drivers may be partly intoxicated,
drugged or impai red by sight or
hearing loss, pain or fatigue. Realize
that
you
may need to take precau–
tionary measures to avoid trouble.
You
have a responsibility.
2. Obey the speed laws. On most
short trips, driving at excessive
speeds will only save you a few
minutes or seconds-if you get
there safely.
3. Always allow two seconds
between the front of your car and
the rear of the car in front of you.
Never tailgate. And if you must
The PLAIN TRUTH