Sean Utley Photo

A recent YouTube video by CBS News explores a troubling trend: increased road deaths in the United States. Interestingly, the video inadvertently kills the whole “ITS THE GUNS ITS THE GUNS ITS THE GUNS” argument behind gun control. But, just like with guns, the “experts” want to ignore the deep-seated problems that drive violence and instead try to solve the problem with raw government power flexing.

The video very clearly identifies a big part of the problem: stress and anger. The sad fact is that since the pandemic, Americans are just angry people. It’s not that we’re fundamentally bad or have anger management issues, but there’s a lot of stress on us. Inflation is crappy no matter how the Biden administration cooks the books. Housing is getting more expensive. Interest rates are high, which makes the whole situation even worse. Then, on top of all that, people who have been able to (successfully) work from home are now increasingly being forced back into the office (“Corporate accounts payable, Nina Speaking. Just a moment.“)

Given that many people are stressed out, struggling and distracted, is it any surprise some people aren’t handling it well on the roads?

But, instead of acknowledging the need for deeper reforms, like fixing the economy, expanding infrastructure and trying to help people feel better, the experts they interviewed think that doubling down on big government is the answer. Automated speed and red light cameras, tougher penalties and making roads harder to drive fast on are all pushed as solutions that “work in other countries” (sounds familiar?).

Also, young men are to blame for more of this than others, they say.

Putting Band-Aids On Bullet Holes

Being stressed out sucks. Struggling to get by sucks. Being distracted from all of this makes it suck more. The idea that adding more stress and worry onto life with speed cameras, harsh penalties, and frustrating road designs that intentionally interrupt the flow of traffic would help with this sounds insane.

Sadly, we see this same kind of thinking happen with guns. We’ve had guns for as long as we’ve had a United States. We’ve had full-semi-auto “assault weapons” for about as long as we’ve had cars. But, when there’s a sudden uptick in death and destruction, the “experts” tell us that the tools are to blame. For guns, they want to ban and restrict as much as possible. For cars, they want to make driving even shittier so that more people will ride transit or just stay home in their approved 15-minute travel sector.

If we were all just good little automatons, ate the bugs, followed the rules, and slept in the pod, they could make us all happier. But, not with a better life as much as happy pills.

In the case of both cars and guns, the problem isn’t the cars or the guns. It’s the people. And, instead of taking care of people to make things better, they want to paper over the problem by doing things that make us stress out more. I don’t know about you, but I’m not playing this game.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

51 COMMENTS

  1. You know what’s really stressful?? Being told what we should tolerate and what we shouldn’t. That REALLY sucks.

  2. Hey, I’ve eaten bugs & slept in a pod, had lot’s of outdoor experience, and enjoyed various happy chemicals. Trust me it’s not all that great. Of course all of that was in Vietnam, and the pod was a sandbag bunker, fully equipped with a M60, grenades, and assorted other cool stuff. 🙂

    • Gunny, you had the east street life, must have been a super duper good little follower. Our pod was a self emptied hole in the ground, optional leafy canopy or poncho roof.

  3. Concerning your claims about the economy some chapter and verse black and white numbers and analysis would be helpful.

  4. Without morality and self control. Our society will implode. They will never pass enough laws to force everyone to behave themselves. That is something the @theists will never understand.

    President Eisenhower said it best in his final address to the nation.

    • Mother should I run for president
      Mother should I trust
      the government
      Mother will they put me in
      the firing line
      Oooh ahhh, is it just a waste
      of time
      Hush now baby baby
      don’t you cry
      Mama’s gonna make all your
      Nightmares come true
      Mothers gonna put all her
      Fears into you
      Mama’s gonna keep you right here, under her wing
      She won’t let you fly but she might let you sing
      Mams will keep baby cozy
      and warm
      Oooh baby, Ooooooh baby
      of course Mama’s gonna
      help build The Wall

      don’t say I didn’t warn you all

      • Someone should have warned us about your rampant, irrational racism.

        Here in America several years back, we told musicians to “shut up and sing.”

        It’s good advice; you should take it. Or at the very least — just shut up.

        • Do a quick search on Roger Waters and notice the first stories that pop up. I was arguing with an imaginary Pink Floyd founder posting here. Seemed as good a place as any for a random rant.

  5. Truth and common sense have no bearing in the grabbers agenda………the goal has been established, you can try but you’d might as well save your breath!

    • Dennis Sumner,

      “Truth and common sense have no bearing on the grabbers agenda” …

      Very true.

      I just posted a comment in another article on this site that many members of the Ruling Class have the explicit goal of humiliating and causing as much suffering as possible among the masses–even if it costs the Ruling Class a GIANT chunk of their wealth, power, and control.

    • Hey, no fair bagging on electric cars!

      Didja know that 95% of all electric vehicles are still on the road?

      The remaining 5% of them made it all the way home.

      • You win today’s interwebs!! *

        *posted from inside of my 1998 XJ Cherokee, 267,413mi. on the odo. as we speak.
        Sent from MotoX4, now entering its 7th year.

        • … moderated.
          If this posts, can we take a poll on what everyone thinks got it sent to jail?

  8. This is part of what I’ve been talking about since Obama was brought to office. It’s his “hope and change”.

    Your not going to make America socialist without making everyone crazy.

    The American population is anger over what the Democrat Left is trying to force down everyone’s throats.

  12. In 1980, the US population stood at about 230,000,000. 40 years later, over 330,000,000 souls. Extrapolating that we have added about 50% more drivers on the road. Has the Interstate and Secondary Road systems been increased by a similar amount? Not likely. Here is what I see as three significant factors.

    The gutting of our railroad network. The loss of that very efficient transportation system has dumped a huge increase of on the trucks to our Interstate and secondary roads. A case study on the decline of our Rail Road System would probably be a great example for what not to do. Imagine 4/5 people “driving” 100 plus trucks to their destination using a fraction of the fuel used by a semi-truck load. We had that once upon a time….

    The propensity of local governments to rely on Fed money to pay for more local Interstates, connectors, and by-passes to support the daily transportation needs of in-town travel. A good part of the Interstate system has been bastardized by this trend.

    The recent Amazon and other online buying trends. Dumping all those trucks on a already stressed and overcrowded transportation system.

    The problem isn’t human reaction to an issue, rather placing them in an intolerable situation. We deserve better. Ignoring predicted population trends and poor planning on the part of our local, state, and national leaders didn’t, and isn’t going to fix the problem. Neither is completely destroying a (semi)functioning economy and a way of life because it’s “easier”. Rather we should work toward more imaginative and creative solutions. Such as separating “interstate” transportation from “local”, and rethinking the demise of our Rail Road system.

  14. Solution is “fixing the economy, expanding infrastructure and trying to help people feel better”, but not any reliance on big government. Ayup, makes perfect sense….

  16. Jennifer, it’s systemically deeper than this. Marx and Marxists destabilize everything an ross every domain and polarize it against the other. Every action Obama and Biden have done and intentionally destabilized our social, economic, spiritual, mental etc systems which in turn destabilizes us.
    The tragedy that faces us with 16K illegals, half of them terrorist and the rest Chinese military, they will hit us before the election. No one has done a thing to organize to prepare for this. The grid, infrastructure, assassinations of Republican leaders will lead the snowflakes to raise the white flags. Exterminations true to Marxist history will be far more extensive than before.

  17. Not exactly a gun topic (although there actually are some parallels) but the biggest push for government intervention in the roadways isn’t about speed limiter or red light cameras but the use of deceptively named “traffic calming” techniques and devices.

    In the same sense the “freedom is slavery” the basis of “traffic calming” is to deliberately stress motorists more than they already are!

    It has long been acknowledged that in any common situation the vast majority of drivers will drive at a safe speed in the absence of any posted speed limit. In fact the recommended method for determining the speed limit for a road is to measure the speed of traffic without any speed limit signs then set the speed limit to accommodate the 90th percentile level (rounded down to an even 5mph increment). Some states even have that method enacted in law, but no jurisdiction actually follows that method because the results are always considered “too fast” — which is why the average traffic speed on nearly every road in this country is faster than the speed limit, because drivers still tend to drive at a safe speed regardless of the posted speed limit.

    This provides the basis for the whole so-called “traffic calming” campaign — if you make roads obviously more dangerous, drivers will naturally slow down! “Traffic Calming” techniques include speed bumps, making roads narrower, replacing turning lanes at intersections to force sharper turns, and even extending curbs into roadways to force drivers to swerve! All these techniques force drivers to go slower by deliberately making their travel more stressful!

  18. ARTICLE NAIL IT … OK ON COMMENTS I GUESS …
    HOWEVER IT’S THE PEOPLE , WHEN GO CRAZY
    CAN’T FIX CRAZY ON OR OFF THE ROAD .. WITH OR WITH OUT GUNS ..
    WHAT IT’S THE AMMO FAULT .. REALY ??? OK PROVE IT …
    HUMAN RACE … KILLING HUMANS , KILLING OFF THE GOOD OLD PLANET EARTH ..
    O’ WHATEVER … Ooo THE COST OF AMMO , WHERES THE 410 ON SHELF ???

  19. Makes me glad we are pretty self sufficient out here. produce our own electricity, food, have a good well, and I am looking into converting an old pick up to a wood gas system. I’ve seen a couple and am reading up on how it works.
    Winter garden is looking good and will have cabbage for kraut, and greens for the freezer.
    Saw some sign of feral hogs this morning so will be hunting porkchops this weekend.
    People like us seem to frighten the Dementiacrats. Difficult to control, convince, or kill.

  20. quote————–In the case of both cars and guns, the problem isn’t the cars or the guns. It’s the people.———-quote

    Sorry I disagree. I have been to Europe and Asia and they have the same problems we do “Except mass homicides and mass murders with firearms”. Why???? Simple!!!! They have sane gun control laws.

    They vet all gun purchases (Universal Background Checks) which prevents the majority of criminals and nut cases from getting firearms in the first place.

    They have way less child deaths from firearms by using safe storage laws.

    They outlaw open and concealed carry because they know that when you let a naked ape carry a gun they will use it for the most trivial of reasons. They do not have road rage murders or people shooting it out over parking spaces.

    They give mental tests before one is allowed a purchase of a firearm.

    They have red flag laws.

    They have waiting periods.

    They have restrictions or outright bans on “weapons of war” i.e. the assault rifle with high capacity magazines.

    They have mandatory firearms training both in safe gun handling and in regards to their gun laws that must be obeyed.

    Some of the countries have surprise inspections (Like Japan) which make sure your guns are locked up and in an “approved safe”. And surprise, surprise contrary to Far Right myths and propaganda you can own a rifle or shotgun in Japan.

    They have in depth background checks and police interviews with a person applying to get a firearm and some nations like Japan interview your neighbors and co-workers as to how sane you are. This alone would prevent 90% of the Trumpite Revolutionaries and the Para Military Lunatic Fringe from getting deadly weapons,

    • DUNDERHEAD. You can “disagree” to your little heart’s content. The fact is that auto mishaps account for more deaths than do guns. You see, you Leftist hoplophobes include in those “gun deaths (sic)” suicides. if someone is bound and determined to kill themselves guns are only one way. If guns were not available they would choose another. The REAL PROBLEM is mental health, but you Lefties screwed that up back in the ’70’s and 80’s when you “Einsten”s close state mental institutions. And to this day you refuse to do anything about mental illness.

      Background checks are great except for a couple of little things. 1) A background chance canNOT foretell what a person will do in the future. 2) Criminals will not go to stores and get their “background checks”.

      As to your “safes”, again you Leftie hoplophobes would like the police to be able to conduct “inspections” of people’s homes to check for “safe (sic) gun storage”. Did you forget about the laws concerning search and seizure (again)? Psst, it’s in the Constitution. You know, that document you Lefties love to hate?

      • To Walther the Beverly Hillbilly

        You fell right into your own propaganda on this one. It is the gangster criminal Republicans who have consistently blocked Universal Health Care which would have given everyone affordable mental health care.

        And ignoring suicides is again crassness and pure ignorance. We should do more about suicides by gunfire and safe storage laws would prevent hundreds of teenagers from using a handgun to commit suicide.

        As a first responder once said and I quote him: “I have saved people who tried to hang themselves, drown themselves, take an overdose of prescription drugs, slit their wrists etc but I have never saved a person who blew his brains out. You are 35 more times likely to have a suicide and 4 more times likely to have a homicide in the home when you have a gun present. That came right from a Stanford Study but Walter rejects all science especially when it challenges and refutes his ignorance on the subject.

        Why you even attempt to engage in subjects you know nothing about mystifies me to no end. You only succeed in shouting to the world how ignorant you are on such subjects.

        • DUNDERHEAD, Nice try! For your edification, the gangsters are your buddies in ANTIFA and the BLM. You are damn right we want your “universal healthcare” nonsense. We know what a mess it is in Canada and Britain.

          We don’t ignore suicides, and your “gun control” measures won’t do a damn thing to prevent a determined suicide victim from doing the deed. Your buddy may have “saved(?)” all those people. But then again, how many of them went right back for a second or thrid attempt. Most of the people I know I have guns in their homes and guess what? Not one of them has committed suicide. Your 35 times and 5 more times, is pure unadulterated propaganda. That “Sanford study”? It started out with a predetermined conclusion, just like the rest of your “studies” . You are damn right I reject your dumb studies because for the simple reason they are canned propaganda.
          What you know about these subjects could not cover the bottom of a thimble.
          Have a good day, but do try learning something before you make a bigger jerk of yourself.

    • “They vet all gun purchases (Universal Background Checks) which prevents the majority of criminals and nut cases from getting firearms in the first place.”

      But what about criminals who get firearms in the second place?

      How are you going to make criminals submit to background checks?

  21. I have seen a couple news articles pushing for cars to be mandated with speed limiters, maybe a “reasonable” allowance for passing, but yeah, your “smart” car would ensure you can’t drive at any “unsafe” speed … it’s like 10rd mag limits. And some articles slamming toxic speedy car culture, Ferrari movies, racing, etc… I can imagine Biden saying “Do you even need that Corvette to go to Starbucks? It’s not a race. Deer don’t wear Kevlar”

  22. in the England (under the influence of who, i don’t know; the Tibetans, OPEC?) car use is becoming an increasingly political tool for controlling and manipulating the public.

  23. it’s the marxism silly. It’s in the “education system” and brainwashes the kids’ growing little minds.

    Public schools are for slaves.

  24. 2nd attempt to post

    To Walther the Beverly Hillbilly

    You fell right into your own propaganda on this one. It is the gangster criminal Republicans who have consistently blocked Universal Health Care which would have given everyone affordable mental health care.

    And ignoring suicides is again crassness and pure ignorance. We should do more about suicides by gunfire and safe storage laws would prevent hundreds of teenagers from using a handgun to commit suicide.

    As a first responder once said and I quote him: “I have saved people who tried to hang themselves, drown themselves, take an overdose of prescription drugs, slit their wrists etc but I have never saved a person who blew his brains out. You are 35 more times likely to have a suicide and 4 more times likely to have a homicide in the home when you have a gun present. That came right from a Stanford Study but Walter rejects all science especially when it challenges and refutes his ignorance on the subject.

    Why you even attempt to engage in subjects you know nothing about mystifies me to no end. You only succeed in shouting to the world how ignorant you are on such subjects.

Comments are closed.