Thursday, August 25, 2005

Got yer seatbelt on ?

I was driving to work this morning when a news update report came on the radio. One of the local TV stations is owned by the same company as several of the local radio stations, so they give little snippets of the news to entice you to tune in. This morning there was a particular part of that report that grabbed my attention.

The story went like this:
"Two people were killed when their Honda Odyessy was hit by a semi on the interstate. The back half of the mini van was attached to the front of the semi. The front half was in the median. Both victims were wearing their seatbelts."

What ?!?!?!?

I am extremely sorry that two people were killed. It is never a joke when someone dies. That being said, however, I fail to see the significance of reporting that they were both wearing their seatbelts. Would it have been more tragic if they weren't wearing seatbelts? Is it going to give a measure of comfort to the grieving family to know they were wearing their seatbelts while being killed in a car accident? I am thinking that in a minivan/semi tussle, seatbelts are a moot point.

I wonder if they report it that way in Beruit ?

"A local suicide bomber destroyed a convenience store today when the bombs in his 92 Toyota Corolla exploded. Two pedestrians were killed. The bomber WAS wearing his seatbelt."

Sorry if you are offended or related to the victims. It just struck me as an odd commentary to a tragic tale.

Got yer seatbelt on ?

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