It's been a deadly few weeks on the roadways in Harford County and, at the rate deadly accidents are happening, it's within the realm of possibilities that this could be a record breaking year for fatal traffic accidents in the county.
What causes a spate of seemingly unrelated deadly traffic accidents isn't always clear. There's some statistical evidence that the shortening daylight hours of autumn can link otherwise unlinked crashes. That, however, doesn't explain what's been going on in Harford County over the past several days and weeks. The days are getting longer and the weather has been unseasonably pleasant.
While some of the crashes remain under investigation, one thing that has been clear in Harford County and the surrounding region for many years is that there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to safe driving skills. Many of us commute, which means spending a lot of time behind the wheel. It may seem as though taking a few shortcuts like slowing down at stop signs (instead of stopping) or outright speeding, will reduce the amount of time in the cockpit. Generally, though, it proves to be easy to catch up to the speed demons at the next traffic light if you're sticking with the speed limit.
Tailgating, speeding, turning left in front of oncoming traffic, distracted driving and any number of other questionable practices warned against back in driver's education class are every bit as dangerous now as when we were first warned against them.
The thing that is so unfortunate about any of these actions is just how innocent they can seem and just how easy it can be to fall into bad driving habits because nothing bad happens even after years of, say, tailgating. Unfortunately, one of the penalties for misjudging while driving can be death.
It is supremely unfair that a quick moment of distraction, or a seemingly inconsequential bad decision can result in some of the greatest of human tragedies, but that's the way it is. Regardless of the causes of the accidents that have taken so many lives on our roadways lately, it behooves those of us who are still driving to try to be a little more careful. Our lives, and the lives of those around us, depend on it.