The Roller Coaster Ride Called Driving

Did you know driving is more dangerous than riding a roller coaster? Yes, according to researchers at Penn State University, people are more likely to be killed on the car ride to amusement parks than on the rides in the park. Driving can be more unsafe than it needs to be, if you’re not careful. Think about it. When there are more cars on the road and not everyone follows safety regiments for driving, your chances of getting in an accident is very high. I was always told when I learned to drive, was to drive as if no one else knows how to drive. Don’t assume that at an intersection everyone will stop at a red light, don’t assume people won’t merge into your lane and they’re checking their blindspot. When I was first learning I didn’t realize what they meant until I got on the road. Many of the laws I learned from the book and driving rules weren’t happening. Especially on the highway. On the highway people are constantly changing lanes without signaling, speeding, and pressuring you if you don’t speed as well.

In my high school Economics class, we were learning about incentives and how they work. The teacher gave an example that stuck with me. He asked the class if car accidents went up or down when seatbelts were implemented into cars. With the majority of the class, I raised my hand to vote for up. And was that the right answer? Nope. You’d think since the purpose of seatbelts is to make driving safer, there would be less accidents, but it’s the opposite. You see, when seatbelts were added to cars people driving felt more safe and that incentivized them to drive more recklessly on average. Without seatbelts we feel less safe and therefore drive more carefully. Knowing this psychology, we know that if people get more comfortable they act more reckless.

Something similar to this psychology that I’ve realized, is that with the longer amount of time you’ve been driving, the more reckless you are with driving. I’ve seen this in my friends, family, and sometimes me. When I first got my license I was scared of everything. I was extra careful at every intersection, would be hesitant to trust other cars listening to right of way laws, & I was scared of the highway. It’s not that I couldn’t drive on the highway, it was that I didn’t like doing it for the reasons I said before. As time passed I realized I became more comfortable and I would take more risks. I saw this with my family as well. My mom has been driving for over 15 years now and drives almost everyday. Once I began learning to drive, it was a roller coaster. I saw people’s carelessness while driving, especially my mom. She would drive in the middle of the road (only in our neighborhood), her turns weren’t very good, and she would often eat while driving. Once my sister got comfortable, she started speeding. Whenever she’s on the highway she’s all the way to the far left, in the fast lane. I’d always criticize them for their driving habits as I was worried for our safety.

Once when I was younger, I was in a car accident. My mom wanted to go to Walmart and she brought me and my brother along. As she got to the end of the neighborhood where it leads out to the main road, my mom looked left then right. She started driving and suddenly, BOOM. We were hit. My mom made this vital mistake… she didn’t look left again. In the time that she took to look right was enough time for a car to come. I think back on this moment, as a learning experience. I learned the ease of getting into a car crash. One wrong move, a silly mistake, and lives could be lost. Of course, me and my family were fine afterwards (as I’m still here writing this). The most damage was my mom saying the airbags kind of hurt. This experience shows why driver education is so important. Learning the rules, having safety tips freshly in your mind helps with keeping crashes from happening.

Another trend with drivers that I’ve seen is a lack of patience. At the end of the school day, I’ll try to drive home, but getting out of the school intersection is chaotic and busy. Many times I have felt pressured by drivers behind me to rush myself and just go. Usually I turn left at the T in the street, which is the most dangerous way to turn. There are cars coming from the left and right, as well as cars in the lane next to you, blocking your view of traffic while they’re trying to turn right. Everytime I get to that intersection, I have high anxiety. I’m always thinking about the long line of cars behind me and the amount of time I take to turn. Many times I’ve been beeped at for taking too long, when I’m trying to be less risky and properly wait until it’s safe to go. I know many others have had this issue as well. Patience in drivers can make the difference in the amount of people who die from these crashes and make the amount of crashes go down.

All of this can make driving look scary and make you feel like you’re going through a loop-the loop. Driving is complicated and our roads are currently a mess. If we take a few steps we can end this issue. We need to be more careful on our roads, as that is what will slow down the rate of people dying. Put your phone down & don’t drive under the influence; those PSA’s and billboards are there for a reason. And just in general, be less distracted. Don’t let your guard down and don’t get comfortable with reckless driving. A way to lower rates of accidents is having insurance companies send out driving refresher courses. My mom took one to lower her car insurance rate as it lowers the risk of her getting into an accident. Be patient; your life or someone else’s is more important than wherever you have to be. The government can make laws that require retesting of your ability to drive once you get to a certain age. All of these methods are what will make American roads for the better & make that roller coaster finally come to that long awaited stop.