War: Blame it on God. Murder: Blame it on Insanity. Rape: Blame the Victim. Hot Coffee: Blame the McDonald's. Unintended acceleration: Blame the Automaker. Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame....
Last night I watched "The Invention of Lying", a rather novel Ricky Gervais movie. The film begins in a world where lying doesn't exist. Everyone says exactly what they feel, does not embellish, exaggerate, downplay or flatter. Then Gervais' character, under tremendous pressure after losing his job and having no way to pay his rent, finds the ability to lie, and everything changes. It gives one pause and makes one think how many supposedly good people lie constantly, for the sake of not hurting others, for the sake of making others feel good, and for the general peace. While the second 2/3 of the film was less entertaining and novel, showing what things might be like without lying caused a chain reaction of thoughts that led me to wondering what the world would be like without blame and how pervasive and insidious blame is in our society.
People fabricate fictitious understandings at will to keep themselves out of the target of blame. The recent Toyota debacle is the epitome of this. With less NHTSA safety complaint filings than 16 other automakers in the US, the level of scrutiny and blame that was placed on Toyota was out of line. In chain-reaction style, acceleration, braking and steering systems were all blamed for people's accidents.
Having a decent working understanding of auto mechanics and electronics, I've seen a pattern develop where the focus has gone from legitimate need for part modification (in 'Murican made components only ARRGHHH) where drivers were still culpable http://bit.ly/b3Gzr2, to misunderstanding of how hybrid braking/ABS systems work resulting in panic http://bit.ly/cYLU3j, to completely spurious correlation of a manufacturer's design and responsibility for keeping one's car on the road http://bit.ly/arBb8Y.
Here: let me clear the air. Do you see the picture of the overtuned SW1 that flipped off of a retaining wall in '04 attached to this post? That was MY fault. It wasn't Saturn's fault for making a car that didn't handle like a McLaren F1. It wasn't KYB's fault for making struts that didn't respond fast enough, Stillen for making cross-drilled rotors that didn't dissipate heat fast enough, Kuhmo for making tires that didn't stick enough, or Sylvania for making Silverstar bulbs that didn't shine far enough down the dark road. It certainly wasn't the fault of WRC for my enthusiasm of for driving too quickly on back roads. It was my fault. I wan't even intoxicated. It was simply my adrenal gland versus reason, and the adrenal gland won. Shall I blame the adrenal gland? The genetics? No. It was my fault. It was avoidable. I paid for it. My insurance went up. I continued to pay for it. Argh.
Unfortunately, the Toyota debacle continues to devolve, with owners of fixed acceleration pedals still blaming phantom car behaviors http://bit.ly/cZfSot. This is pitiful. When these senile idiots on medication at the CVS vault an embankment because they picked the wrong pedal before putting the car into park, they shouldn't be allowed to drive anymore, but the manufacturer should not be blamed.
We need more serious driver's education in this country. People should have some idea how a car works before being allowed to operate it. The fact that a California State Trooper failed to recognize that the brakes are stronger than the engine and that neutral exists is the saddest example I have ever seen that our driver's education system is an utter catastrophe. Daily, someone uses the terminology "V-4" to refer to a four cylinder engine when they're shopping for a new car with me. While V-4s exist, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V4_engine, they're not sold in any automobiles in the U.S. It goes to show that people have NO IDEA what is going on under the hood. What is under the hood, Mr & Mrs. average person? Perhaps it's God, asking them to start a war, sue the company that brewed their coffee, rape someone, and then vault an embankment when they press the wrong pedal but then lie about it out of embarrassment, because there's certainly not anything they understand under there. If they could understand how it worked, though, they might feel they were at fault, and they probably wouldn't like that.
Dude, I couldn't agree with you more that driver education needs to be seriously ramped up in this country (pun intended).
ReplyDeleteFirst, I don't think anyone should be able to obtain an operator's license without a demonstrated ability to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission. Another skill to be demonstrated would included the ability to bring the vehicle safely to a complete stop without the use of the brakes (much easier to do with manual vs. automatic transmission). I could go on...
I remember my father would not let me obtain my drivers license until he was satisfied that I had: a) a basic understanding of the mechanical functions of any motor vehicle, b) an ability to change a flat by myself, c) an ability to accomplish several tasks related to operating a manual transmission vehicle in a variety of environments.
These days, I spend much more time on a bicycle than I do behind the wheel of any motor vehicle. One the rare occasion that I do operate such a vehicle, I've found that my approach to driving has transformed, and I operate such vehicles as if I were riding a bicycle in heavy traffic - relying even more so upon my peripheral vision that I ever did before (just to name one example of change).
And, finally, in regard to the morons that blame the car for causing a wreck: I used to drive an '84 Jeep Cherokee (back when they were still made by AMC). It was a hand-me-down from my sister, which she had received as a hand-me-down from my dad. Basically, the idea was that if you could drive this thing, you could probably drive almost anything on four wheels. Excellent teaching/learning tool, I think. Anyway, later in its life, this Jeep had an accelerator that would often get stuck down, causing a sudden increase in speed. Any time it happened, there was no cause for panic. I would simply reach down and pull the accelerator back up with my hand...problem solved.
And here's the take home message, kids: Even the first time this happened with the Jeep -- obviously as a total surprise -- there were no consequences (other than a squealing girl in the passenger seat). No collisions, no damage to any vehicle or anything else, for that matter. Why? Because I know how to friggin' drive and was driving in a manner that allowed enough of a buffer zone from other traffic and obstacles so that even a surprise acceleration was manageable.