Fighting For Lives

Joseph Stalin, former general of the Communist party, once made a chilling statement, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” Too often, this is the mindset people have when it comes to automobile fatalities. Most people do not blink an eye when hearing the number of deaths per year in car accidents. Numbers like: 6 million car wrecks annually, averaging approximately 42,000 deaths per year. However, this number can be drastically lowered if U.S. citizens start seeing these numbers as lost lives rather than a surprising statistic.

What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving? The curriculum used to educate students on driver safety will affect how serious they take driving. It is important that courses are detailed, interactive, and engaging. Driver education that requires a standard or passing grade is the most beneficial way of putting safe drivers on the roads. A program that offers additional resources and assistance for students will ultimately lead to more better-informed drivers. Driver education must include the dangers of reckless activities such as driving while intoxicated, whether it be alcohol or drugs. To sum up the importance of driver education is to say that a responsible mindset instilled in the classroom will lead to a responsible mindset behind the wheel.

What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving? Understanding that driving is a privilege will be crucial in understanding the responsibilities of that privilege. Responsibilities include driving defensively, avoiding distractions, and self-care. Driving defensively requires constant awareness of surroundings and being able to quickly adapt to situations. Adapting to certain conditions involves driving slower in hazardous weather, yielding to first responders, and even avoiding reckless drivers. Avoiding distractions may include texting, switching radio stations, adjusting vehicle temperature, eating food, putting on makeup, or reading navigation while driving. Lastly, self-care is often forgotten when it comes to driver safety. Agilerates.com reports that “a driver’s risk of a car accident is 11.5 times higher if they’ve only gotten 4 hours of sleep.” While the National Safety Council reports “Each year, drowsy driving accounts for about 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities.” It is important that drivers are well-rested and not rushing to their destination.

Have you ever had an experience of being in a car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly? In September of last year I was in a serious car accident with my younger brother. As the passenger, I was very fortunate to not have suffered from severe injuries, only a broken nose and a minor knee injury. Though I have always taken driving seriously, this experience put into perspective how precious life is, and how fast it can leave this world. On the day of the wreck, first responders informed me that mine and my brother’s lives were saved because of our seatbelts. Ever since then, I have been even more careful to check that all my passengers are in their seats and buckled before I start driving. To this day, I continue to struggle with the trauma of being in a wreck. Because of this, I have been intentional to encourage responsible driving so that others do not have to experience the loss, trauma, and fear that result in being involved in an accident.

What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road? I have been driving for three years now and have done my best to keep myself and others safe while on the road; however, my personal struggle is getting enough sleep. As a first year college student, maintaining a job, participating in church, and being involved in extracurricular activities, sleep is not always put on the top of my priority list. As I previously discussed, being well rested is very important when getting behind the wheel. A goal that I am currently setting in my life is to have a more organized schedule so that I can implement the proper amount of sleep each night. With more sleep time etched into my schedule, I will be able to drive with more awareness and caution compared to when I am tired or drowsy.

In conclusion, investing in driver education is ultimately investing in fighting for life. Sadly, so many people do not take driving seriously until they are affected personally. It is imperative that society begins to see the automobile death rate as a tragedy rather than just a statistic. Once people realize what is at stake while driving and begin to actively make safer decisions, the number of fatalities can be drastically lowered. My parting words come from former U.S. president Abraham Lincolin, who once said, “Next to creating a life, the finest thing a man can do is save one.”