Hines Sight / Slow down, get off the phone, eyes on the road

I wonder if the inventors of the automobile ever thought it would become such an integral part of people's lives -- as well as a dangerous one.

For some, driving a car is a rite of passage. For others, it is a basic means of transportation. And another segment of our society looks at having and driving a car as being at the center of their independence.

No matter what the car means in our lives, we can't overlook the fact that it is the cause of some of the worst carnage on our roads. There are too many cars and too many drivers take too many chances when behind the wheel of the multi-ton machine.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 10 million vehicles were involved in police-reported crashes, 94 of which were passenger vehicles, in the United States in 2008, the last year for which statistics are available. Additionally, there were more than 25,000 passengers who died in car crashes and an estimated 2.35 million who were injured. In Connecticut for that same year, there were more than 160 fatalities.

So it is with some relief that the Fairfield Police Department is instituting a special unit on July 1 to crack down on traffic-law violators, hopefully to educate us to use our vehicles safely and properly and to avoid a tragedy from happening. The four-officer contingent will hone in on speeding, disregarding traffic lights and talking and texting while driving. The unit also will look for pedestrians who do not use sidewalks. The officers will use radar and laser guns, speed monitor trailers and speed plates as they search for violators.

While I have been known to sometimes have a heavy foot (my former mechanic, a racing car enthusiast, told me once that he wanted to take me to the track), I welcome the deployment of the new traffic unit. The safety of everyone is the goal.

Here are some of my pet driving peeves. What are yours?

Speeding. The NHTSA says speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to crashes. In 2009, speeding was a factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes and more than 10,000 people were killed -- although speeding-related fatalities deceased 10 percent from 2008 to 2009. I live on a "speedway." My road is a shortcut for people going from Fairfield to Bridgeport and vice versa. But few of these motorists ever go the posted speed limit of 25 mph. On Saturday, my neighbor and I had a tag sale on my driveway. The potential customers parked on the busy street for the few minutes they browsed the merchandise. Granted, parking on this road is not a good idea, but don't you think passing motorists would want to slow down to get around the cars and keep everyone safe? In fact, the opposite happened -- they revved up, most times not looking out for pedestrians, and even wailed on their horns. Why?

Distracted Driving. I

nteresting how that phrase has become part of our vernacular. Being distracted pertains to those nitwits who must talk and drive or text and drive. We have laws in Connecticut that prohibit the use of hand-held phones while driving a car, but why does this practice continue?

According to the NHTSA, 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving; of those killed in distracted-driving-related crashed, 995 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction; and more than 5,000 people were killed and an estimated 448,000 were injured in crashes that involved distracted driving. My father had a strict rule when he drove -- don't talk. Fairly simple advice that others should try. Someone needs to explain to me why is it so important to be on the phone all the time?

Young Drivers. No offense to our young people in town who drive their own or their parents' cars, but try not to be so cocky behind the wheel. And the sleeker the vehicle, the cockier the driver. Of course, not all youthful drivers are like this. Some take seriously their responsibility on the road. But too many times, I either have been nearly clipped by a speeding, distracted young driver while I walk my neighborhood for exercise or have been tailed dangerously while driving in front of an impatient one. According to the NHTSA, more than 2,300 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes in 2009, and another 196,000 were injured. The under-20 age group has the greatest proportion of distracted drivers, too, and 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted, said the NHTSA. The good news is that fatal crashes involving young people have declined since 2000.

Older Drivers. They, too, can be a menace on the road. Older drivers tend not to speed like the younger set, but sometimes the extreme slowness in which they travel is just as dangerous -- not because of how slow they drive but because the motorists behind them have no patience. Too many times I have witnessed cars recklessly passing an older driver because they are annoyed. In 2009, more than 5,200 people age 65 and older were killed and 187,000 were injured in crashes, according to the NHTSA. Again, the good news is that fatalities among older drivers have decreased.

Pedestrians and bicyclists. Cars, pedestrians and bicyclists were never meant to share the roads, most of which are too narrow to allow for safe passage.

Pedestrians and cyclists have some responsibility, too, when on the roads -- like knowing which direction they should be traveling.

When you walk where there are no sidewalks, you should do so on the opposite side -- in other words, walk facing the oncoming cars.

When you ride a bicycle, you do so with the traffic. I see violators all over the place. In 2009, 630 cyclists were killed and 51,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes, stated the NHTSA. My neighbor is an avid bicyclist -- he even uses his two-wheeled vehicle to get to his job as a teacher. He told me the other day how he was traveling on Kings Highway when a woman driving a minivan ran him off the road.

He is convinced that she never saw him.

So let's all work together to make road travel safe for everyone. Residents can fill out a form about traffic issues at www.fpdct.com or pick on up at Police Headquarters at 100 Reef Road.

Patricia A. Hines can be reached at hinessight@hotmail.com. She also can be followed at http://blog.ctnews.com/hines