We as drivers of automobiles should be very concerned by the way we fail not only to observe but to fail to obey driving laws posted, such as speeding, running red lights, and the many other infractions we commit.

The automobile is a dangerous weapon. The huge number of fatalities that occur daily, over 43,000 yearly deaths in the USA, plus the untold personal injury accidents suffered should be conclusive proof of the seriousness of the problem.

A recent trip driving from Seattle to the San Francisco Bay area and returning over the Holidays was a scaring experience. Using the auto's cruise control to comply with the three states' speed laws, I estimate 95 percent of vehicles going in the same direction passed our auto with many far exceeding the posted speed limits.

Yes, we noted a few police cars that had pulled vehicles over for infractions, but the number of enforcement was only a small fraction in comparison to the number of vehicles on the freeway not complying with state speed laws.

Are we in such a hurry to get from place to place? Just think if we all observed and obeyed the laws, what a saving in human life. Fuel economy would increase, turning oil tankers away. Accidents would substantially decrease, lowering our insurance rates and the life we save maybe our own.

Dick Thurnau

Seattle