Support Safe and Healthy Driving

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:

We American motorists (all 200 million of us) collectively put in 8 billion miles on the road together every single day, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. And while we are out there, on the average day, over 110 of us are killed and nearly 7,000 are injured in well over 16,000 accidents. 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 is 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 out there and know that we can do better!

We know that salubrious means safe and healthy, and that is precisely how we and our passengers want to be when we are on the road. 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, eh? 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, share the good news with others, and celebrate the fact that we can can 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, safe and healthy driving experience whenever we hit the road, and that together we can make it so. Please join us in sharing a few laughs with our fellow motorists 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!