Michael Fumento

Why are people killed in Toyotas? Because a huge number of Americans are killed by motor vehicles of all types and Toyota has been the third biggest seller her for the past decade. Why do so many people complain about sudden unintended acceleration in Toyotas? Because so many Americans complain of sudden unintended vehicles across the board and see above. And what links these two? Americans are crummy drivers. But mind you, it's not us it's them!

"Fully 80 percent of area adults often see distracted driving, with reports of such behavior surging in the past five years," according to a new Washington Post poll . More than two-thirds of those surveyed said they often witness overly aggressive driving. Yet only one in eight considers his or her own driving too aggressive.

Almost everyone polled, including those under 30, said sending or reading texts or e-mails while driving should be illegal. But nearly a fourth of respondents said they e-mail, text or use the Internet while driving. For young adults that goes up to 40 percent.

"Do as I say, not as I do" is a common attitude. Often it's a joke line. But when it comes to driving, in a nation that's lost 400,000 people on the roads in the past decade of which all of 56 have been "associated with" runaway Toyotas (about half the total butcher's bill per day, the joke isn't very funny.