A just-issued national traffic-safety report makes reference to the 1,244 people who died in Georgia in car accidents during 2010, as well as to the nearly $8 billion in costs accrued related to those crashes and fatalities.

That is certainly sobering and, owing to collisions, speeding, DUI crashes, reckless driving, distracted driving and other problems behind the wheel, similarly dismal numbers come from virtually every state.