According to the following statistic and related study, I am overdue for my next car accident:

Nashville drivers are 10 times less likely to get in a crash than the average U.S. driver and average about 11 years between collisions.

I last had a fender-bender in October 1995, so you’ve been warned. Does this mean that Nashville drivers’ reputation for being awful on the road is greatly exaggerated?

I’m all for people continuing to keep an eye on Google since the Web dynamo has so much power, but I think Google Street View is an amazing resource. I’m happy that my house is on it, and I don’t even mind that my Jeep is clearly visible in my driveway (above).

I think individuals should be able to opt-out if they desire, though I think their homes should be moderately obscured rather than being removed altogether. I can understand wanting to have faces blurred, too. I sure wouldn’t like it if my license plate number were discernible in the photo above, for instance. I disagree with the notion, though, that Google Street View should be an opt-in service:

“If they are going to do that, it seems like there should be some sort of consent,” said Vanderbilt University sportscaster Kevin Ingram, who lives in Hermitage. He said he wasn’t particularly troubled that his own home was pictured, “but they should at least ask.”

It is incredible that technology now grants us the ability to see street corners across the country with a few clicks of a mouse. If residents had to opt-in, though, almost no one would, and it would take a lifetime to get all the approvals needed. Even worse, the few people who did opt in would be easy targets because they would be unusual and easy to find. What makes Street View acceptable, in my opinion, is strength in numbers: If everyone is in there, what does it matter if you are, too?

I have virtually zero interest in auto racing, but I sure hope the Indy Racing League keeps its Nashville race here in town. The city essentially forfeited its two Winston Cup races in the mid-80s and has watched from the roadside as NASCAR has enjoyed an unprecedented boom the past two decades.

Nashville’s annual IRL race is good exposure for the city and adds to the entertainment options available for local residents. I will likely never traverse the gates at the superspeedway, but I hope that many others have the opportunity to do so to see IRL events and, hopefully someday, Sprint Cup events there.

As unlikely as adding a Sprint Cup date might be today, losing an IRL race would do nothing to help that long-term cause. It would be especially unfortunate to see the IRL leave town just as the league’s ugly battle with the Champ Car series is ending. That’s a development that will likely lead to renewed interest and increased popularity for open-wheel racing.

Bridgestone Firestone Motorsports Executive Director Al Speyer said the company would not insist that an IndyCar race remain at Nashville Superspeedway; however, that is the company’s preference. “I hope the race continues, but at the same time it is not our personality to demand that a race remain here just for us,” Speyer said.

I hope local officials–including those at IRL sponsor Bridgestone-Firestone–will do everything possible to keep the race in town. It’s fine by me for Bridgestone to say publicly that they won’t “demand” that IRL keep a race here, but I sure hope the company lobbies hard behind the scenes for Nashville to stay on the calendar.