Let there be peace on the road
- by: Patricia Rider Bermon
- recipient: US Congress
Have you noticed that there is far too much mayhem and misery on the highways, the city streets and the country roads of America today?
Consider these facts:
American drivers (all 200 million of us) collectively put in 8 billion miles on the road together every single day, give or take a few million, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. And while we are out there, on the average day, nearly 100 of us are killed and more than 6,000 are injured in well over 15,000 crashes. We do not even want to think about the medical and property damage expense involved. The costs are enormous in pain, suffering and dollars. Reliable statistics on road rage are hard to come by, but the number of scary horror stories about it on the news is certainly alarming. And furthermore, the stress is not doing our health any good either, and it%u2019s driving our passengers crazy too. Let's face it, most of us are driving more and enjoying it less. But we are sick and tired of being miserable when we%u2019re on the road, and know that we can do better!
We like the word salubrious because it means safe and healthy (not slow), and that is precisely how we and our passengers want to be when we%u2019re driving. And if it%u2019s not too much trouble, we%u2019d like to be happy too! We know that being angry with other drivers causes much of our misery, yet isn't improving their driving any. We know that anger is optional, and that we are perfectly capable of creating our own happier, more salubrious driving world. We know that the other driver is not our problem, and that whatever he or she is doing, we can laugh it off and be on our merry way; there is no need to waste our energy and good cheer throwing a fit.
It sounds so simple, doesn%u2019t it? Yet for most of us cheery driving does not exactly come naturally, and that is why we propose to declare a National Salubrious Driving Day to remind ourselves that we can do it, to share the good news with others, and to celebrate the fact that we can and will be happier and more salubrious together as we drive. In honor of John W. Rider, the father of salubrious driving, we ask that this day be observed every year on his birthday, November 22nd.
At Riders on the Road, we are dedicated to the proposition that everyone in our extended family of motorists is entitled to a happy, healthy and safe driving experience whenever we hit the road, and that together we can make it so. Please join us in sharing a few laughs, while we let go of our crabbier, more self-destructive ways and follow a new path to driving sanity. And please help us spread the word by joining in our petition below.
Thank you for your support!
You are no doubt aware that there is far too much mayhem and misery on the highways, the city streets and the country roads of America today, and we the undersigned ask you to help us change that.
Consider these facts:
American drivers (all 200 million of us) collectively put in 8 billion miles on the road together every single day, give or take a few million, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. And while we are out there, on the average day, nearly 100 of us are killed and more than 6,000 are injured in well over 15,000 crashes. We do not even want to think about the medical and property damage expense involved. The costs are enormous in pain, suffering and dollars. Reliable statistics on road rage are hard to come by, but the number of scary horror stories about it on the news is certainly alarming. And furthermore, the stress is not doing our health any good either, and it%u2019s driving our passengers crazy too. Let's face it, most of us are driving more and enjoying it less. But we are sick and tired of being miserable when we%u2019re on the road, and know that we can do better!
We like the word salubrious because it means safe and healthy (not slow), and that is precisely how we and our passengers want to be when we%u2019re driving. And if it%u2019s not too much trouble, we%u2019d like to be happy too! We know that being angry with other drivers causes much of our misery, yet isn't improving their driving any. We know that anger is optional, and that we are perfectly capable of creating our own happier, more salubrious driving world. We know that the other driver is not our problem, and that whatever he or she is doing, we can laugh it off and be on our merry way; there is no need to waste our energy and good cheer throwing a fit.
It sounds so simple, doesn%u2019t it? Yet for most of us cheery driving does not exactly come naturally, and that is why we propose to declare a National Salubrious Driving Day to remind ourselves that we can do it, to share the good news with others, and to celebrate the fact that we can and will be happier and more salubrious together as we drive. In honor of John W. Rider, the father of salubrious driving, we ask that this day be observed every year on his birthday, November 22nd.
At Riders on the Road, we are dedicated to the proposition that everyone in our extended family of motorists is entitled to a happy, healthy and safe driving experience whenever we hit the road, and that together we can make it so. Please help us spread the word and make the roads of America a happier, healthier, safer place to drive by declaring November 22nd Natiional Salubrious Driving Day.
Thank you for your support!
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