I thought of a very simple way of illustrating how I think that decisions should be made on highway safety rulemaking: a number line. For example, with rules impacting the trucking industry, the starting point would be the average annual truck crash fatality rate of 4,000.

If a proposed rule would be expected to lead to a greater chance of people dying, then the number line would make jumps to a point higher than 4,000 and it would be rejected.

If the proposed rule would help to reduce truck crash fatalities, then the number line would make jumps Toward Zero and would be adopted.

And this method would require solid proof. If there is any question about whether or not it would save lives, i.e. if it there is any chance that it could lead to more tragic, unnecessary, preventable deaths, then forget it! Toss it out or make major changes to preserve human life and health! At minimum, it would require further study before moving forward with it. Much like innocent until proven guilty.

On the other hand, if there is any chance at all that it could save lives, then by all means: Go for it!

I’m a simple person with simple needs. 

If your immediate response to my simplistic solution is in any way skeptical, please take 33 seconds of your valuable time to watch this:

USA Crash Death Clock shows 3,685,791 crash deaths & 895 million crash injuries (and counting) which is 3x military deaths & 400x the military injuries in all US wars since 1776:  http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war

Yet There Is No National Vision Zero Goal For Crash Deaths

Trucking Fatalities Increase for Fourth Year in a Row:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-19/trucking-fatalities-increase-for-fourth-year-in-a-row

Making a number line jumping tool is really simple, try it yourself:  http://www.ictgames.com/numberlineJumpMaker/.

And just this morning, I noticed the lid to a pickle jar with this message:

Do not purchase if safety button is up

I took a picture of it but I had a hard time getting the words in focus (I’m no pro). Aren’t we all glad that someone figured out how to make canning jars with that safety feature–once they figured out the danger of unsealed jars of food?! And then someone took a step further to educate the user how to ensure SAFETY.