Take it easy on the road this holiday

With a long cold New Year's weekend ahead it's probably a good idea to buckle up and keep an eye out for the other guy on the roads.

At the risk of jinxing 2011, Douglas County has seen a decrease in traffic fatalities over the last few years, with only three during 2010 so far, down from five in 2009.

That's a good sign. Fewer people are dying on the roads and the only better news would be if there was no one to report at the end of the year.

Looking back at what we know about the three fatalities, at least two could have been prevented.

This year we had two fatal motorcycle accidents in a week.

We don't have full reports in hand for any of them, so we don't know the details of each.

We do know that most deaths in an accident are preventable by the simple act of fastening your safety belt.

Modern vehicles are designed to protect the occupants.

Motorists should be extra careful around motorcyclists and bicyclists, who don't have the benefit of all that safety design for their protection. There's just a second's inattention between a happy new year and a tragic one.

With fewer than three days left until the new year, our dearest wish is to have all of our readers survive the weekend to see 2011 dawn.