Publisher’s Notebook

• Malibu Driver’s Ed for PCH •

ANNE SOBLE

Recent weeks have demonstrated that there is much that is still not understood about the human mind in general and when it is behind the steering wheel of a car in specific. Some psychologists ask whether the realization that one has command of a two-thousand-pound machine skews one’s perceptions and values. They seek to shed light on issues of driver anger, aggression and self-destruction.

Our Malibu concerns are much less abstract. We have to drive Pacific Coast Highway every day. In this issue of The News, we see the tragic aftermath of wrong-way driving and don’t know whether there was substance impairment, it was a conscious act, or was an indication of physical or mental illness. The search for an explanation continues, but a final conclusion may never be reached.

We also learn the fate of a driver, who may have been under the influence, but knew that he hit two bicyclists. Rather than aid his victims, he chose to run and cower in the bushes in a macabre game of hide-and-seek. His penalty is as much for his refusal to own up to his deeds, as for the life he took.

Recently, another speeder on the PCH claimed a child’s life. This occurred right after a visitor to Malibu was killed, and at about the same time, a caregiver was denied what she provided to others and died on the PCH. Not all of these cases were adjudged violations of the law, but taking the life of another comes with its own sentence. A local resident who killed a child many years ago said that even though the child ran between parked cars after a ball and  “it was not his fault,” he will never forget that moment and will spend his whole life atoning for it.

Instead of focusing on atonement, Malibuites should be willing to accept increased constraints on speeding on the PCH, if only to allow any out-of-control drivers to stand out even more. Plus, we will continue to have problems with 911 calls and response times until these issues are addressed.

All of the recent accidents were in western Malibu. Is the area getting the coverage it needs? Given that traffic accidents in Malibu are more deadly than typical shopping mall crimes, why does a community over the hill have five cars to Malibu’s two?

Traffic law management needs to be proactive as well as reactive. Some citizens are now asking whether Malibu is getting its money’s worth if there is only accident clean-up and not prevention.