Drive smart, safe this summer

Five. That's the number of people who died in accidents this past weekend in North Idaho.

Six. That is how many fatal crashes there have been in the region so far this month.

Seven. That's how many people have died in fatal traffic accidents far this month.

Sixteen. That's the number of people killed in traffic accidents so far this year in North Idaho — putting the region on track to equal last year's total of 29 people killed.

The numbers add up to too many people dying on Idaho's highways and roads.

There are almost as many reasons for accidents as there are crashes. Driver inattention, aggressive driving, people running red lights, drunken driving. While the accidents that took place over the weekend are still under investigation, one thing is certain — it looks to be a bad summer out of the highways if we don't start driving defensively and driving smarter.

Someone want to pass you? Let 'em. Sooner or later, karma or the Idaho State Police will catch up with them. Dying to talk to a friend? Just don't. Wait until you can pull over or until you arrive at your destination before pulling out your cell phone. Talking to your friends is a great thing. Crashing because you were too busy chatting about who said what to whom isn't. Ditto for texting while driving. In a nutshell — dumb, dumb, dumb. Double ditto for drinking and driving.

You've heard all the safe driving tips, watched the ads and all that. I'm not going to repeat 'em, but consider them said.

? Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee.