What pops into your mind when you think about todays cars? Or the cars promised for 2010 and 2011?

You probably Imagine that they are comfortable, and your remembering the smell of a new car. The sleek new style of the new car trend isn’t something you mind either. Because of the recent economic crisis, many of these newer greener cars are even affordable and within reach to even lower income consumers.

At what price do we get these almost luxury technologies? They’ll stop pollution, they’ll use less essential resources, and they’ll save money. But what bad things could result from these “better” cars?

Here’s something else to chew on, “Loud Pipes Save Lives”. I’m not the first person to coin the phrase, and I’m not sure who did. However, they are right. I bet you never thought that your noisy belt, or rattling engine could save a life? They can, just think about for a moment. Stew on it for a while if you need to.

There’s no doubt that most drivers in todays world are distracted, stressed out, and just plain old not paying attention. Even with the new laws banning cell phones, loud stereo’s and in car TV’s, it just doesn’t stop. People are too busy thinking about everything but the heavy machinery under their palms. Couple that with the idiotic people that jay walk, wear black at night, or just plain don’t notice a car coming, and you have quite a deadly equation on your hands.

Those loud hoopties that barrel down the road may be polluting road hazards, but you surely know when they are coming! There’s no way you can miss those squeaky belts or ear bending worn brakes. Loud custom exhaust, and pumping stereo’s tell us someone is driving near by. We automatically pay attention to the road around us when we hear these things, and yet, they are so under appreciated.

Sure, we all prefer a quiet drive, wear we can comfortably listen to our music and not fear some crazy other driver who might cause and accident with us. But I personally would prefer to know just where all the other drivers are. 

When new hyrbids, Bio Fueled and Smart Cars start becoming more popular, we’ll lose all those old loud clunky machines that alert us they are near. Most people are shouting “Hurray” to that, but what they aren’t thinking about, is that newer cars are much much quieter than their predecessors. 

A low hum is usually they only thing heard from new generation cars coming out. Thats one of the perks, but does it have the potential to become a deadly hazard?

Picture that dark evening, while someone is walking on a road that has been car-free for hours. Its not a main road and the shoulder is really small, so that someone decides to walk in the road a bit. They assume that they’ll be able to hear the car coming and get out of the way. They get deeply consumed in their thoughts as they continue their walk home.

Another person, who was upset from a fight, is driving around trying to straighten their thoughts. They don’t really have a destination and finally give up, deciding to turn around and head back home. They roads that person drive back on, are dark with few street lamps. The lanes are small, but its not busy with other drivers, so they continue on. 

The person walking home is so consumed by their thoughts, they hear nothing but the wind through the tree’s. They look up at the trees, and miss the headlight beams on the ground.

The driver could barely see the guy wearing a dark blue sweater and black jeans. They were busy thinking about getting back home to straighten things out.

When the car and the person collided, it was to late. The driver didn’t see the person walking in the road, and the person walking didn’t hear or see the car coming behind them.

If that same car had been a loud, purring hotrod, or a clanky old mazda, that person in the street would have heard it coming with enough time to get out of the road. Instead, an accident occurs, and who’s to blame?

With all common sense, we can say that the driver should have been paying more attention, and the person should not have been walking in the road for any reason. But is it really their fault?

The road was dark and uninhabited from cars and people, as far as they could tell. There weren’t any street lamps and the shoulder and lanes of the street were small. This is not a common accident these days, unless you ad in alcohol or drugs. Yet, the quiter the cars are, the more likely this accident will happen, and it will only be magnified by substances.

Well, readers, it is up to you to make the final judgement. I can only state my opinions and the facts I have researched. In the the end, you decide if its fact or fiction.