Day 4: You cannot control strangers or wildlife...

Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Everyone has heard of that, right?

Its a fact though, guns don't load themselves and shoot people all alone, there is someone to pull the trigger.

In a similar sense, cars don't kill people, drivers do.

This is also true, in a car accident typically there is a driver behind the wheel, not a car with a mind of its own.  I think its safe to say that a majority of the time there is a car accident, it is just that...an accident.  I don't believe that there are many people who deliberately hit another car purely to murder a stranger.

That in mind, do you tell your children to 'buckle up'? I imagine so.  I know a few adults who do not believe in wearing seat belts themselves, but these people do make sure that their children have buckled their seat belts.  Why? I think the obvious answer is because it is safe.

I was told through out drivers ed, and by my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. many times that you might not cause an accident, but you cannot trust the other drivers.  How are you supposed to know for sure that the car in front of you isn't driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol or even just plain tired.  Texting while driving has made the news in a lot of places nowadays, because it is unsafe and dangerous.  These are all 'wild cards' on the road, anyone could be doing it at any time.

Here in Wisconsin we have deer, and a lot of them.  They like fields, pine trees, nice creeks with fresh water...oh and running in front of cars.  I have yet to hear of a deer that spoke English and could read a stop light or used a cross walk.  I feel as though I have a better chance of hitting a deer than another vehicle because they are so unexpected, and that is why we use our 'brights' when we drive.

People purchase car and health insurance every day because it is responsible to plan ahead, to plan for the 'what ifs' in life.  You don't buy car insurance because you PLAN on getting in a wreck, and you don't purchase health insurance because you PLAN on getting very ill.  I view ERF as another form of insurance, one that reassures me that IF I get into a car accident, whether it be by the hands of another driver, the weather, or even a deer, I can know that I took one more step to keep my son safe.  It does ease my mind knowing that every time I buckle my son into his ERF safe car seat I am taking the initiative to do my best to keep him as safe as I can.

~Racheal~