The statistics for car accidents are very grave.

It's dangerous to be in an Israeli car. It's dangerous to be on the highway.

Yes, the wars and the terrorist attacks do get the headlines and they give the impression that there are dangers in Israel. Nobody denies those dangers.

However, the headlines leave out an important issue. The number of people who die or are seriously wounded in car accidents is almost always greater than those who are victims of car accidents.

It is doubtful that Israelis are the worst drivers in the world. People make jokes about drivers from many countries, but there is no question that there are things that Israelis do much better than driving.

Why is this the case?

Perhaps it has to do with other issues that are discussed elsewhere in this website. Parents give their children extra care for various reasons, mainly because they don't know if they're going to see them again.

The philosophy that security of your loved ones is not always under your control and you don't know what the morrow will bring sometimes leads people to do silly, foolish, and even dangerous things because they are afraid.

Now, of course, you would say that if people are afraid then they should be even more careful. At least in this way they have control over the situation. They don't have to create a dangerous situation while they are driving.

Yes, that would be a logical way to think about it and that would be a logical way to act. However, have you noticed that not everything in the world seems to work in a logical way or a way that you consider to be logical? This is no exception.

Helping the injured

There's more. Although Israelis are quite used to seeing traffic accidents, they never seem to get used to them. Whenever there is an accident the traffic stops as people gawk at the damaged cars and possibly at the victims.

This does have a good side to it. Whereas in many countries abroad people will refrain from offering assistance, in Israel they would be perfectly willing to help.

There are two possible reasons for this difference in approach and attitude.

1. Jews feel an affinity for each other. They help each other out. It's in our blood.
2. In certain countries the victims of accidents or crimes have been known to sue those who have helped. Although they were able to make a lot of money that way, the result was that people in many countries are advised not to help the victims. Fortunately, that situation has not yet come to Israel and we still believe in helping each other.

They look new

There's another way to look at the situation with the cards. People who have come back from visiting certain European countries in which the drivers are polite and courteous and safe see things in a strange way. Upon returning to Israel they say don't those people care about those cars? Don't they use them at all? They look like they just came out of the showroom. If they really cared about their cars they'd go ahead and they would use the cars. Alright, so it gets banged up a little bit, but that's what cars are for. They are a functional object. Go use them. Those people don't seem to use them much at all.

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Keywords: Security, Transportation/Cars
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