The Automobile: America's Top Killing Machine

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm a pretty good driver, and I enjoy the privilege that I have to drive. Every so often, I have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get my license renewed. I have to admit, I absolutely loathe it. We can probably all agree that it is not a fun experience. 

So why do we have to go through such an ordeal to renew our license, or even get one in the first place? It might have something to do with the fact that the automobile is the top killing machine in America. 

When I give that a quick thought, my perspective begins to change. Now, I wonder why isn't the ordeal I go through at the DMV more complicated? Why can't we pull together as a country, state, or city, and create the best mass transit in the world? After all, we live in the best country in the world, right?  

Even though I'm a good driver, I realize there are so many out there that are not good. There are plenty of good drivers out there as well, that are not so good after they spend 6 hours at the bar and drive home. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if I had to give up my privilege to drive even though I enjoy it and am good at it, to keep the rest of these ridiculous people off the road and to save countless lives and to keep us all safe, I would do it, as long as we had an amazingly efficient mass transit system. 

According to The Atlantic, 33,561 people died in car crashes in 2012. The same article suggests that in 2015, something other than the automobile may take over the top killing machine in America.

Unsuccessful so far, I've been trying to come up with a parallel with both car accidents and gun deaths. Our privilege to drive gives us means of transportation, but as I've brought up above, there could be ways of providing safe and efficient means of transportation without needing the privilege to drive. The right we have to bear arms gives us a means to shoot with the purpose of hunting, sport, and defense. Is there a way we can fulfill this purpose without actually needing to bear arms? That's a tall glass of nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. 

I'm obviously bypassing the hobby part of both. Some people love cars/trucks. Some people love guns. They wouldn't give them up for anything. Even though it may prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of people a year, people want to keep their cars and their guns. This is the world in which we live, so we might as well get used to it.