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交通事故にも目を向けよう
テレビのニュースで子供の死を取り上げるとき、子供の自殺ばかりがクローズアップされる。
しかし、2005年の1年間で、交通事故死した15歳以下の子供の数は182人。
シートベルトやチャイルドシートの利用を叫んでいれば、多くの子供の命を救えたのではないか。
Keeping it in perspective
During my years of working in the Japanese TV industry, I learned that the likelihood of a news story being reported is not necessarily related to how important it is. Things that are shocking, sensational, unusual, or that come with great video are more likely to get air time than mundane things that are actually affecting our lives.
I have three children and am just as concerned about safety as any parent. But when I see groups of parents, school administrators and even government officials all worked up and holding emergency meetings because a few distraught kids committed suicide over bullying at school, I have to marvel at the power of the media to dramatically distort our perspective on what are the real threats to our children.
(I must also confess to being very irritated when a principal solemnly apologizes on TV because a student killed themselves. That's because I feel the school bears little responsibility for the death. This is suicide, after all. The main culprit is the person who took their own life. Then come the bullies who teased them, and then come the parents of both kids. No effort by school administrators can prevent problems if parents don't even teach their kids the basics like the value of human life, or common courtesy toward others).
I'm annoyed by this media distortion because routine traffic accidents — which get little reporting — kill well over 100 times more children than bullying-related suicides or murders by child molesters. Yet though we see parents' panels discussing suicides, and school districts giving kids emergency buzzers to call for help if they're attacked, when was the last time you saw any kind of report about efforts to improve traffic safety for kids walking to school, or to encourage more use of child safety seats in cars?
During 2005, 182 children aged 15 or younger died in traffic accidents in Japan. In the last 10 years, the fatality total is over 2,500 kids. Is it because these numbers are not heavily reported that I see, almost every day, small children riding in cars without using safety seats? Don't people understand that if they brake suddenly, their unbelted children are going to turn into little missiles shooting into the dashboard, or through the front windshield?
I think that when the media reports on traffic deaths, they should always mention whether the victims were wearing their safety belts or using child safety seats. Most of the time they're not. This would be a great opportunity for the living to learn from the tragedy of the deceased (I note that the recent British report on the death of Princess Diana mentioned that her lack of a safety belt was a major factor in not surviving the accident).
But it's precisely because traffic accidents are so common that the media is not likely to give them heavy coverage anytime soon. So the next time you see a little kid bouncing up and down on the seat of the car stopped next to you at a red light, look over, make eye contact, and then point dramatically at the seat belt you're wearing. You never know; you may save a life.
- Keeping it in perspective
- 物事の軽重を正しく判断すること
- likelihood of a news story being reported
- ニュースに取り上げれらる可能性
- is not necessarily related to 〜
- 必ずしも〜に関係しない
- come with great video
- すごい映像がある
- air time
- 放映時間
- mundane
- ありふれた
- (are)affecting 〜
- 〜に影響している
- school administrators
- 学校管理者
- government officials
- 役人
- worked up
- あせった
- distraught
- 取り乱した
- committed suicide
- 自殺した
- bullying
- いじめ
- marvel at 〜
- 〜に驚く
- distort 〜
- 〜をゆがめる
- threats
- 脅威
- principal
- 学校長
- solemnly
- 厳かに
- apologizes
- 謝罪する
- bears 〜
- 〜を負う
- culprit
- 手を下した人
- teased 〜
- 〜をいじめた
- courtesy
- 礼儀
- routine
- 日常的な
- get little reporting
- ほとんど報道されない
- well over 〜
- 優に〜以上
- molesters
- わいせつ行為をする人
- parents' panels
- 父母会
- school districts
- 通学区域
- encourage 〜
- 〜を奨励する
- fatality
- 死者数
- safety seats
- チャイルドシート
- brake
- ブレーキを踏む
- turn into 〜
- 〜に変わる
- shooting into 〜
- 〜に向けて発射された
- dashboard
- ダッシュボード
- front windshield
- フロントガラス
- the living
- 生きている人
- tragedy
- 悲劇
- the deceased
- 亡くなった人
- note that 〜
- 〜を指摘しておく
- mentioned that 〜
- 〜と述べた
- it's precisely because 〜 that 〜
- 〜だからこそ〜
- heavy coverage
- 大きく扱うこと
- bouncing up and down
- 飛び跳ねている
- dramatically
- 大げさに
- You never know
- ひょっとしたら