Editorial: Drive cautiously with your loved ones in mind

Last year, 1,098 people died on Illinois' roadways; about 41,000 people did across the country.

As glum as those statistics are, the toll of heartache runs much deeper.

A reader called to underscore this point to us last month at the conclusion of our Last Kiss series about healing from the loss of a spouse.

That series centered around the death of a local barber who was killed in a motorcycle crash. Look at all the lives that were affected by his death, that reader observed in advocating for traffic safety initiatives.

As that story made clear, the life of the crash victim's wife has been forever altered. His three children's lives have been, too.

It's a tragedy that's also affected the people who work for his business, other friends and family, witnesses to the crash, the other driver, the emergency responders.

Every traffic death is a statistic and usually a news story. But the cost is so much more.

It represents a human light that goes out - but also a light that had shined on many others whose lives then are left a little darker.

Remember that when you get behind the wheel this holiday weekend and this summer driving season, when you go for a drive at any time, whether near or far from home.

Take care with that precious cargo.

That life you carry is not just your own. It also carries the loves and hopes and dreams of those whose lives are intertwined with yours.

Different experts may differ when it comes to ranking the top causes of traffic fatalities, but the same causes tend to occupy their lists:

• The influence of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs.

• Speed.

• Veering into other lanes or failing to yield the right of way.

• Distracted driving, which isn't limited to texting. Reaching for the radio dial, talking on the phone, eating, simply letting your mind wander, all these things can cause accidents, sometimes fatal ones.

• Drowsiness.

• Poor weather.

Traffic safety experts caution us all the time to drive defensively, to focus on the road rather than some distraction. But how often do we drop our guards or take our traffic safety for granted?

One especially troubling statistic: Close to 25 percent of all those killed in crashes in Illinois last year were not wearing seat belts or shoulder harnesses or were not wearing them properly. One out of four!

Such a disturbing statistic, and it's one that holds true almost any year. It's hard to believe that in 2018, with all we know about the safety benefits of seat belts and shoulder harnesses, that so many people would neglect to use them.

Take care when you take to the road. Take care for you. Take care for all who love and depend on you.