The Skilled Driver Needs to Follow the Rules

The importance of driver education is that more skilled drivers are less likely to be involved in car accidents. Proficient driving skills do not come from experience alone, they come from education. I know from experience in high school that over time people become overconfident in their driving skills, citing that they play racing games, so they are better at driving faster than other people. Simply being able to handle a car well at high speeds is not helpful in everyday traffic, especially because dutifully monitored speed limits are a deterrent to driving quickly. Many people I rode with had no idea about simple rules such as not cutting across a solid white line to get into a forced turn lane, or even the difference between a striped double yellow line, and a solid double yellow line. I haven’t experienced any major car accidents that involve any deaths, but what I can speak of is the fact that when people get overconfident in their driving, they are much more likely to get into an accident than if they were being careful.

Some steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of fatalities in car accidents are following rule sets and taking precautions before driving. An example of a driving rule set is the Smith System 5 keys, which are as follows: “Aim High in Steering”, “Get The Big Picture”, “Keep Your Eyes Moving”, “Leave Yourself An Out”, and “Make Sure They See You” (Smith System). These steps worked great for me when I was learning to drive because they made awareness a subconscious checklist while driving, which wasn’t too overwhelming. Things like these make the rules that a driving instructor teaches a new driver stick longer because they are easy to remember while driving. Another way to reduce the risk of fatalities is to do your due diligence in making sure your vehicle is safe to drive before you start it. A quick check of the tire treads with a quarter can be a lifesaver when you notice that you have uneven wear, and the inside of the tire is practically bald compared to the outside of the tire tread. Checking the mirrors’ positioning is always a good habit to be in, and making sure your seat is correctly positioned in the car by leaning all the way back into the driver’s seat and reaching straight ahead with both arms to make sure that your wrists are touching the top of the steering wheel, not the palms of your hands because that would mean your seat is too far back in most cases. General rules like these help to get you familiarized with a car you have never driven before, because not everyone needs to check their seating position, mirrors, and tire treads every day in their own car before they go out for a drive. In general, preparation, precautions, and procedures help to make driving safer.

I have had the experience of being in a serious car accident in high school, where I was in the passenger seat. In this example, me and my uncle were driving to go get lunch. As we approached an intersection, the light turned red, and we stopped. When the light turned green again, we were at the front, and a red-light runner hit us directly in the B pillar and nearly gave me a concussion as my head hit the passenger door window glass. Thankfully, the glass did not shatter. What I learned from that experience is that even though the red-light runner was 100% legally in the wrong, my uncle, as the driver could have anticipated it and hesitated more, allowing the red-light runner to pass by in front of us. He told me that he made a mistake by not hesitating, despite being 100% in the legal right of way. I remember this day extremely well because we wearing shirts from the same insurance company, and she made a joke about it. In this circumstance, even being in the 100% legal right of way can still be catastrophic if another driver that you are unaware of is breaking the law and causes an accident. This represents the biggest danger on the road, which is unaware drivers. The age of the red-light runner in question was around the 50-60 range, which is why personally I believe that with age does not come driving skill, but rather due diligence, and rule set following.

The steps that I and others can take to be safer on the road are simple. Do not be distracted while driving, maintain awareness of other drivers, check out the vehicle you’re driving before driving it, especially check your brake lights, turn on your turn signals before you turn, understand traffic at certain times of the day such as rush hour, follow the speed of traffic, and check your blind spots.