Back in March, Elon Musk told his SpaceX employees that they have a higher risk of being killed in a car crash than dying from the coronavirus.
Now the UK's deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, has warned children are at a higher risk of being in a car crash than of having coronavirus.
Doesn’t that tell us what a crazy world we live in, and how senseless and destructive we humans are?
The first UK pedestrian to be killed was Bridget Driscoll, in 1896. And the first UK driver to be killed was Henry Lindfield in 1898.
The coroner in Bridget Driscoll’s case said he hoped “such a thing would never happen again.” Today the annual death toll on UK roads is over 1,500; globally it’s over 1.5 million.
What will the death toll from Covid be in 2120 - with increased temperatures, hurricanes, and higher sea levels? As humans we have simple problems and difficult ones. Putting man on Mars is simple. Eradicating hate crime is impossible.
And if we look at world records, e.g.the 100 metres and the marathon, the laws of physics dictate that there’s a limit to the speed we can run - away from wildfires.
But with climate change, there’s no limit to its destruction. Therefore, it should be recognised that in all aspects of life - from health care to employment - we have victims of abuse, intimidation and air pollution. And, vulnerable road users, and people with lung disease are victims of speeding drivers!
In short, if we can’t eradicate road death, we sure as hell won’t stop global warming. Hence wouldn’t a ‘common sense’ message be: ‘Save Lives, Protect Our NHS, Speed Limits Are Maximum, Not Minimum’?
Allan Ramsay - Address supplied
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