To the Editor:

Re “Crashworthy Motor Vehicles” (editorial, Feb. 3):

Your recommendation that the federal government promote better crash tests, particularly of what happens when vehicles of different sizes collide, is a good one.

Yet the federal government also needs to do more to prevent crashes. For decades, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has focused on promoting seat belts, air bags and car designs that enable people to survive crashes.

Meanwhile, we have an epidemic of reckless and distracted driving, with excessive speeding, running red lights and yakking on cellphones while driving.

More than 43,000 people in the United States lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2005. Of these, 11 percent were pedestrians.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should provide financial incentives that encourage states to use camera systems to ticket speeders and red light runners. The technology is available to prevent crashes, and European countries have been using it for decades.

Let’s prevent crashes, rather than simply enabling motorists to drive like jerks and get away with it.

Sally Flocks
Atlanta, Feb. 3, 2007
The writer is president and chief executive of Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety.