Speed kills

In speaking to NPR, Leon James, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii, who also co-wrote the book, “Road Rage and Aggressive Driving,” had this to say about the psychology of people who speed: “We are taught to speed by our culture. In other words, speeding is a habit. We’re always trying to do something as fast as we can. Speed is something that has a very positive value in our society.” 

Think about it – car commercials, video games, movies (damn you, Vin Diesel) and songs all glorify whipping around corners and “putting the pedal to the medal,” as they say – or said in the 1950s. 

Well, one consequence that’s apparently not shown in any of 24 “Fast & Furious” movies is that when you speed in the mountains, you run the risk of hitting and killing a moose, which is exactly what happened this week just outside Silverton.

 Recently, two young moose (born late spring 2021) had been seen in and around Silverton alone – orphaned after their mother was hit and killed by a car. Well, on Monday morning, it appears one of the two young moose was found dead on the side of U.S. Highway 550, west of Silverton near Mineral Creek. 

“We think (the moose) was hit around 6 a.m. this morning by a vehicle, likely a pickup truck, traveling at a high rate of speed based on the skid marks and the pieces of trim from the vehicle that were all over the road,” Wesley Berg, a local photographer, said in a post to social media. 

 All this to say, don’t be the “Man” in Bambi and orphan any wildlife. Be like Foghat – slow ride, take it easy.