Jaywalking, Texting, Speed and Speeding: Recipe for Disaster
Larry Buford (File photo)
Talk about a recipe for disaster, are lawmakers really paying attention to what’s going on? Here are the ingredients:
On January 1, 2023, a new California law went into effect – jaywalking is now legal! First introduced in 2018 by San Francisco Assembly member Phil Ting, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2147 called the “Freedom to Walk” Act. The new law decriminalizes walking outside of a crosswalk unless poor judgement has placed a pedestrian and a vehicle in immediate danger.
According to The Zebra – the nation’s leading insurance comparison website – texting while driving is the cause of roughly 1.6 million accidents each year. In another recent study, 60% of people texting while walking veered off course; incident or injury amounts to nearly 12,000 per year.
Speed: According to the Public Health Department, death from Fentanyl use in Los Angeles County alone rose from 109 in 2016 to 1504 in 2021 and continues to rise.
Cannabis (or “weed”) is legal in California for medicinal purposes as well as recreational use (for adults), and has become more easily accessible.
During the spike in gas prices, the Biden administration went into the oil reserves twice to try and accommodate demand and to temper pricing, but there was no caveat: Americans received no message of gas rationing like “slow down,” or “drive only when necessary.” People continue to drive wild and free with no regard to gas rationing, and hit and run accidents are on the rise. It’s been reported that in Los Angeles alone, a hit and run occurs every 18 minutes. Compared to the national average of 11 percent, Los Angeles alone categorizes 50 percent of traffic accidents as hit and run.
Now mix it all together until it becomes “normalized” then bake your “chaos.” The frosting can be chocolate, vanilla, caramel or whatever your preference, but it will all taste the same and have the same effect on all who partake. Yum, yum!!
Larry Buford is a contributing writer. Author of “Things Are Gettin’ Outta Hand” and “Book To The Future” (Amazon). Email: [email protected]
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