Recently, I heard about a camera that is to be installed in cars in the upcoming years that monitors not the cars surrounding, but the driver. This camera is to be sophisticated enough that it will tell when the driver is distracted, e.g. nodding off, texting, looking out the window, etc. Seriously. Clearly, the world will indeed be run by robots before 2020 because apparently we need devices to help us stay alert. If we could just turn off our cellphones for 15 minutes so that we can drive to and from wherever, maybe we would have less accidents due to distracted driving.
Now, I realize that this camera can do a lot of good and can prevent accidents. However, the majority of them happen because humans just don't care. They want to do what they want to do and it doesn't matter if they are endangering others in the process. So many times I've heard people tell me, "It's not my problem" when talking about another person's feelings or stand on sensitive subjects such as this. Everyone has someone that wants them to come home safely. No one deserves to be put in danger.
It's true what AT&T Don't Text and Drive Campaign is all about--"It Can Wait!" We need to stop thinking only about what we want done NOW and think about how our actions effect others. I don't even eat and drive at the same time because I know, from experience, that I CAN'T! I'm all over the place on the road when I do that. It scared me, not to mention the other drivers around, when I drove over the yellow lines. People just tend to think, "It won't happen to me" or "I don't care." Wrong attitude. If we all treated every day like Christmas or Thanksgiving, we wouldn't have half the problems we have in this society.
Why can't we put other people first? Is it that difficult? I'm not saying we can't ever do what we want to do. However, I am saying that we need to think outside of ourselves and make sure our actions aren't putting others in, perhaps, a dangerous position.