A Swiftian Solution
Our society has more and more old people, which, while good for the elderly, does have its financial and psychological burdens. And—until the past few weeks, at least—we've also had more and more SUVs.
The solution? Use the SUVs to kill the old people.
Because that's just what they do, very effectively, according to
a new editorial in the British Medical Journal.
To quote: "Two independent trends in the developed world are likely to reverse some of the hard won improvements that have been made in road safety. One is the ageing of the population; the other the increase in the use of sports utility vehicles.... The first trend produces a growing number of vulnerable road users; the second produces a likelihood of more severe injuries when vehicles and pedestrians collide."
More: "Pedestrian protection is achieved in several ways. These include separation of vehicles from pedestrians, reduction of vehicle speeds,the development of "smart vehicles" to avoid collisions, and improved vehicle design to reduce injuries to pedestrians. The proliferation of sport utility vehicles represents a backwards step in safer vehicle design."
How long will it be until a victim of an SUV, or a victim's family, sues a carmaker for knowing that SUVs are unsafe and doing nothing to address design issues that threaten everyone not in an SUV?
To quote Martin Luther King woefully out of context, "How long? Not long."
