Lives at the Wheel

I saw the school bus stop sign two seconds before I would have slammed into it. My instincts surged, and I hit the brake, skidding to a stop three feet from the sign. Gasping, I put the car in reverse and sheepishly gave the bus the space it required, my hard rock music pounding in the background. Focus. Driving is all about focus, and I had forgotten that as I got caught up in the music playing on my iPhone. Distraction is now a part of life, but that distraction could cost lives as millions across America forget that driving is more than just a convenience—it’s a responsibility. Unsafe driving can have terrible circumstances, from the annoyance of a revoked license to the guilt of causing a death. Bringing up a generation of safe drivers requires societal change. Promoting drivers’ education and parental involvement could help decrease deaths from car accident, by inspiring awareness of driving as a responsibility.

Drivers’ education can provide a uniform instruction on the risks and responsibilities of driving, offering a larger number of students knowledge on safe driving. With drivers’ ed., trained instructors, rather than parents with a variety of teaching methods, ensure that students cover all the necessities of driving. Instructors are less likely to be biased towards students or coddle them, instead providing a more balanced education and challenging students. With a standardized driving education, America’s next generation of drivers could have an equal understanding of driving risks and principles to guide their behavior in the vehicle. Furthermore, it is harder to falsify driving records when students complete their hours through drivers’ education. Driving instructors oversee the students’ driving and ensure that the student comprehends the basics before taking the exam. While it is easy to fake your way through the driving exam, especially with the changes Covid-19 has enacted on its administration, fooling a driving instructor is not so simple. An instructor can be in the car with the student, reinforcing good driving habits and preventing poor choices.

While drivers’ education is crucial to standardizing safe driving, parents must also be involved in the process, promoting good driving habits at home. Students grow up witnessing family members’ driving; if poor driving behaviors are prevalent, the students will naturally mimic them because they believe it is normal and safe to act in these ways (such as texting while driving or driving without a seatbelt). Parents’ driving backgrounds will reinforce how students view driving habits—parents who imply that it is okay to speed will raise children who believe this as well. In order to prevent deaths from car accidents, parents have to get involved with the driver’s education process. While sending a teenager to drivers’ ed. is an excellent start, parents have to be the ones to model good driving for their students, demonstrating what behaviors are acceptable and safe. Parents can also prepare their students for the responsibility of driving, speaking with them about safety and how reckless driving can cost lives. Having a serious discussion about driving with students readies them for a safe driving career. Finally, parents can even set restrictions where instructors cannot. It is ultimately the parents’ jurisdiction whether a student is ready to drive or not. Some teenagers are not responsible enough to begin driving at sixteen, and parents must recognize that sometimes it would be more prudent to wait until a student is mature enough to take seriously the responsibility of driving.

My own parents were very influential in my driving process. My mother was my main driving instructor, and she guided me towards safe habits, though I didn’t always want to listen to her. Nevertheless, I, like many young Americans, witnessed unsafe driving habits with my parents growing up. My father would sometimes text while driving, and both my parents have certainly gone far over the speed limit when in a hurry. Sometimes, during my driving education, I would not take my mother as seriously because I knew that she did not always follow her own advice—she went over the speed limit herself at times, or messed with her phone’s GPS while driving. I believe that if my mother had put into practice what she told me, I would have heeded her words more carefully (and perhaps never have been in the situation with the school bus). And yet, I recognize that some of it is also my own carelessness. I shouldn’t switch playlists on my phone while driving, but I do. I shouldn’t fiddle with my phone’s GPS while driving, but I do. I make decisions every time I drive that could be unsafe or even reckless. Even the smallest distraction can cause an accident, and I should recognize that and remember to restrain from using my phone while driving. Using a car is a privilege, one that should not be taken lightly—a vehicle can a useful tool, but it can also destroy. Remembering that helps me to keep my eyes on the road and my mind focused on protecting others from my vehicle.

Safe driving takes conscious effort, both from individuals and from society. In order to promote vehicle safety, Americans must promote drivers’ education, to standardize instruction so that more students comprehend the importance of safe driving. And yet, parents too must get involved, recognizing that their children repeat what they see and striving to provide a model of safety. Ultimately, individuals have to accept that safe driving rests on their decisions while handling a vehicle; only then can Americans begin to decrease car accident-related deaths.