THE PERFECT CRIME

[Music] [Music] um [Music] well now let's see that leaves us about three cents to go how about some licorice i don't like licorice how much is that yeah let's see i'll be with you in just a minute sir yeah that's five yes there we are okay pop put your hands in the cash register come on pop let's have the money it's only fourteen dollars but there's a little change screaming [Music] gunman kills woman and child for 14 murder in cold blood a crime that makes headlines brings public indignation and that means action for when public indignation demands it the killer is caught not a pleasant story but at least there's justice in it but let's take another crime this time a perfect crime [Music] room [Music] hey [Music] i think this one's gonna live he's the one i feel sorry for when he finds out his wife and kid are killed in the accident an accident it was murder but in this case a perfect crime because the public is not aroused [Music] the public takes this for granted this is something that happens every day that's what makes this the perfect crime the killer won't be caught because nobody demands he be caught nobody seems to care who's guilty how about you would you take time to investigate to look at the evidence here it is evidence of murder the weapon speed the killer possibly you well not in every case most murders you can't prevent not as long as everybody has so handy a weapon but what about this weapon called speed what makes it so deadly obviously too much of it but what determines how much is too much many things take a stretch of road speed limit 55 miles per hour of course it could be anything 25 35 but since this is a pretty good stretch of road let's say it's 55 this good citizen is doing 85 that may or may not be a deadly speed but because 85 is faster than 55 at least it's illegal but figures are tricky this weapon called speed can change safe speed here 55 add a little rain and 55 miles an hour can kill the limit of safety drops to 45 or perhaps 25 so it's possible to obey the law observe the speed limit avoid getting arrested but still commit murder [Applause] but you've got no part in this crime you can blame that one on the weather safe speed maybe until the sun goes down then what then the reach of a pair of headlights governs the deadlines of speed the safe speed limit of six hours ago can now limit the length of human lives [Applause] [Music] but this is no fault of yours no one blames you because it gets dark at night another case you better let me take that car off over there no no no it's it's okay law abiding citizen a man who observes posted speed limits faithfully but posted speeds are for cars it can be guided and controlled zero is the only safe speed for the car that suddenly runs wild [Music] but you had no part in this it's not your place to check everybody's tires many things can turn speed into a lethal weapon among others alcohol a liquid that posts its own speed limit after a few drinks any speed in excess of zero can kill but here again you're not guilty you're not to blame if the deceased had a few drinks in cases like these you're clear you're not guilty you've got no control over killings due to the weather to the time of day [Music] to unsafe automobiles or to those drivers who can't even be forced to use their heads so where do you come in how do you use this versatile weapon called speed to commit the perfect crime here's how time of day 2 pm weather conditions good visibility good condition of automobile excellence driver condition sober speed under the legal limit [Music] murder and a perfect crime it's impossible to prove you guilty nobody will blame you for too sharp a turn too narrow a slab too soft to shoulder to dead [Music] they may blame the road the bad road that turns safe speed into a lethal weapon but the crime is yours because a bad road is your responsibility it's your fault a road that kills does so because you let it be used and maybe that's because you don't recognize a bad road for what it is oh you can tell this one's not safe still you're driving on it and not complaining even when you can see it's designed for death but take this one a pretty good highway till a train makes it a dead end for a while but as you say this isn't too dangerous most people pay attention to the crossing and merely lose time only a few lose lives and this has been a problem ever since the highways started crossing paths with the railroads an old solution was the invention called the narrow underpass where you don't have to wait for the trains anymore but you wait [Music] and as you say highways sometimes have to cross each other it's regrettable of course that crossing this way condemns so many to die [Music] and this too will kill you you or somebody else narrow bridge miles and miles of good road can turn bad because of this deadly bottleneck [Music] the graceful s turned particularly beautiful in the spring the view marred only occasionally by the broken bodies of those who thought it was a good safe road not much to complain about here at first glance an excellent highway and as you say very few cars are wrecked here very few cars but several children a road that forces heavy traffic into congested areas is a bad road but all roads aren't bad and good ones like this have a record to prove they're worth the money but do you know what can make this a bad road not over the years but in minutes too much traffic more cars and the road was designed to handle makes a bad road so maybe the big super highways alone can't solve our perfect crimes they've got to be backed up by a whole network of good roads not only expressways and through ways but also wide two laners with good shoulders underpasses and bridges that fit the roads straight roads where it's possible with gradual grades and wide gentle curves properly marked where curves are necessary highways that bypass towns and schools enough of these roads of all kinds to distribute traffic properly so none of them are overcrowded nice dream isn't it unfortunately it's only a dream for good roads remain too few and far between why well it seems that you aren't interested in having them and it's only natural why worry about roads that kill when the victims are just names statistics when nobody can accuse you of anything worse than simply refusing to prevent these murders these perfect crimes and it's not just murder alone there's highway robbery too for every bad or inadequate road robs every motorist of cold hard cash and in many ways you and everyone else pay for bad roads and you pay more for bad roads than it would cost you to have good ones take lost time it's hard to figure that in dollars and cents but it's expensive figure out the time you lose because of bad roads in just one month figure it at the minimum wage multiply that by the number of motorists and the total will stagger an astronomer and more concretely the money you pay for gasoline that you wouldn't burn on good well-planned roads adds up to quite a sum not to mention repairs new parts new tires and faster depreciation and of course the insurance rates are in direct proportion to how safe the roads are nine million dollars are paid each day in property damage due to automobile accidents insurance companies don't pay this you do when you pay your premiums highway robbery highway murder serious crimes but not serious enough to arouse you not bad enough to make you call a halt the fact is that it's easier to look the other way decent people don't like the sight of blood besides it's too much trouble to demand more and better roads too much trouble to spend a little time saving money and lives but if you spend a fraction of the time and trouble that bad roads now cost you demanding better roads you could stop this murder and highway robbery how could you go about it you could learn to recognize bad roads and look for them become road conscious you could write your state representative and demand that something be done about the bad roads you know about letters from just a few people say the people who live in your block would get action you could write to newspapers and insist they stir up interest keep it stirred up it's not only your right it's your duty you could vote yes instead of no on the bond issues that will bring better roads you could urge others to vote yes you could support instead of fight gasoline tax increases that pay for better roads you could protest against diverting highway funds for other purposes you could join the good roads association in your state if they don't have one help to organize it you could recognize that a good roads program will snowball the better some roads become the worst the others appear and the more the public will insist on improvement and you could realize the plans have already been laid that the highway engineers are ready to go just waiting for that word from you but you won't give that word it's too much trouble and you don't quite care well good road projects are going on but not enough of them not enough to keep up with the traffic rate or the death rate and from your standpoint a source of irritation grounds for complaint detour it'll slow you down it's a nuisance you won't realize that the minute you lose now will save you hours in the future you won't realize that some inconvenience now will keep people alive later on you won't quite believe that you won't face the fact that roads can kill and that when they do you share the responsibility for failing to make them safe you share the guilt of murder your motive indifference lack of concern but you sleep soundly tonight they've got nothing on you no matter how long the killing goes on it needn't bother you and it won't because the victims are just names to you and you don't care about them how do i know because you're just like i was i didn't care it was no concern of mine i never felt guilty until [Music] uh [Music] yeah that's me that's why i can talk my wife and daughter died on a bad road i killed them you helped but what good's a confession now [Music] it was a perfect crime now [Music] you