It’s almost the end of October and we’re all in the mood for a good scare right? Of course we are – it’s Halloween! Luckily there’s tons of spine-chilling horror around to keep the fear juices flowing.
In gaming news Sega released the much anticipated first-person survival horror developed by The Creative Assembly, Alien: Isolation. Not to be out done Bethesda Softworks also released a creepy survival horror aptly named The Evil Within earlier this month. Both games are sure to satisfy any gamer’s appetite for the disturbing this Halloween (no matter what gender you are).
Whilst the movie scene was kind of a disappointment this horror season it’s good to see television hasn’t dropped the monster ball. AMC’s fear fest is coming to a close but there are still some great titles you don’t want to miss including, Halloween, Chucky and Children of the Corn just to name a few. Speaking of missing – if you didn’t catch the third installment of The Walking Dead season five this past Sunday – what are you waiting for?! You won’t get any spoilers from me but I will say that “Four walls and a Roof” is one the darkest episodes to date, second only to “The Grove” in season four.
No cable? No problem. Netflix has got you covered with a stellar inventory of great classic horror and since it’s available at your convenience you can create your very own fear fest.
But the scariest thing this Halloween season has nothing to do with monsters or serial killers and is so mundane that you probably do it everyday on your way to work. That’s right – I’m taking about driving.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be.
On Monday the season premier of Canada’s Worst Driver, now in it’s 10th season, once again shed light on the ever growing problem of unsafe drivers in Canada. Over 500 people were nominated but only 8 “lucky” applicants were chosen and made their way to the now famous driving rehabilitation centre. Not surprisingly the show’s host, Andrew Younghusband, believes everyone who was nominated desperately needs driver rehabilitation. Looks like this season will be focusing on one of the biggest issues to ever plague Canadians streets – distracted driving.
Before I go any further I just want to mention that the reason I talk so much about Canada is well, I’m Canadian and I write what I know. Don’t get me wrong – I realize unsafe driving is a global issue. According to the World Heath Organization an estimated 1.24 million people were killed in traffic related incidents in 2010. The global average death rate for traffic accidents totals 18 fatalities per 100,000 people yearly and 59 percent of those deaths are young adults between the ages of 15 and 44. Disturbingly only 28 countries (representing a mere 7% of the world’s population) have adequate laws that address all five risk factors; speeds, impaired–driving, helmets, seat-belts and child safety restraints.
Count 25 seconds on your clock; someone just died in a traffic related accident.
Scared yet? You should be.
So that being said, back to Canada…
What really struck me about Tuesday’s episode of CWD and what ultimately prompted me to write this article was the utter disrespect some of these drivers have for other people on the road. The numbers are scary enough but to actually see someone driving with that little disregard is down right terrifying. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean;
Chanie, a driver from Calgary, got her licence in PEI nearly a decade ago but has never bothered to learn the rules of the road. She freely admits she “learned” to drive the day before she took her drivers test and shouldn’t have passed the exam. She doesn’t know what yield means, asks questions like “what’s a road sign?” and regularly ignores stop signs. In additional to her generally lack of road knowledge Chanie adds distracted driving to the mix by constantly using her cell phone to text and take selfies while on the road.
To be fair Chanie isn’t the only one obsessed with her cell phone on the show. Gorge is an Ontario driver, who I can only describe as a road bully, can’t resist the urge to watch television on his phone while he purposely tail gates other drivers. Savannah from Newfoundland pays more attention to her phone then her mirrors while Mariah, another Ontario resident, rear ended a cop car while texting.
Even more alarming then her cell phone use is Mariah’s attitude regarding impaired driving. She admits to driving drunk yet can’t stop smiling about it. I wonder how many other young people have the same nonchalant approach to driving under the influence?
When it comes to educating the public, especially teens, about the dangers of impaired driving the focus is on how to get teens not drink while education on how to drink responsibly is sub par at best. Young people are going to party and we are kidding ourselves if we think they won’t drink alcohol. We have the same problem when it comes to education on safe sex but that’s a topic for another day.
An organization called Arrive Alive Drive Sober is attempting to warn youths about the dangers of driving impaired by using pop songs in there adverts.
Will a catchy song really make young people take DUI more seriously? Maybe their hearts are in the right place but I think the message is lost – especially since this video focuses on fines and a criminal records rather then the deaths that occur when people drive while impaired. If we want young men and women to act like young adults they are perhaps we need to take a more adult approach.
I’ll leave you with some scary food for thought;
- In the time it took you to read this blog an estimated 12 people died in traffic related accidents
- Impaired driving is the number one cause of criminal death yet most of our young population find driving under the influence amusing – in response we trying to remedy this problem with pop music.
- Distracted driving is currently the number one cause of traffic accidents – which means every time you get behind the wheel of your car or even walk down the street, you are putting your life in the hands of drivers who consciously put your life at risk to check facebook updates. Now what’s scarier then that?
Happy Halloween everyone…Drive safe.
Featured image can be found at Pumpkin Masters
Scraps of Lace 