Driver Education Initiative – #arrivealive

Driver
Education Initiative 2019: In the Driver’s Seat

• 
  What
  is the importance of drivers ed in reducing the number deaths
  as a result of driving?

• What
  steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to
  driving?

• Have
  you ever had an experience of being in car accident or have seen
  your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?

• What
  steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help
  others become safer on the road?

#arrivealive

I’m a pretty
smart girl. I only need to be “shown” once. My father is a Rescue
Lieutenant for one of the busiest fire stations in the country. In 24
hours, he averages 15, 9-1-1 calls. These calls aren’t for fires or
kittens stuck in a tree. They’re for incredibly bad car accidents.
Most of those pictures are shown to me, my sister, and my brother as
a reminder of the dangers of driving. Most families don’t even have
conversation at dinner. We do. And it oftentimes surrounds my dad’s
day “at the office,” using the Jaws of Life, pulling people out
of car accidents.

Drivers ed
is incredibly necessary to reduce the number of deaths as a result of
driving. Classes taken online/in school allow a driver the
opportunity to be told directly how to avoid accidents and injuring
themselves – or worse: others. Putting a phone on “do not
disturb” while driving will allow the temptation to be reduced to
answer the “ping” of a text message or “ring” of a phone
call. Having a phone hooked up to a car’s audio system allows for
hands free communication and ensured focus on the road.

Unfortunately, I
have been in a car accident when the person who hit us was distracted
by their phone. It was the week I turned 16 and my mother was driving
the car I was going to inherit. We were stopped at a light and she
said “hold on” and before I knew what had happened, a 16 year old
kid driving his father’s 3500 quad-cab pickup truck slammed full
speed into the back of my soon-to-be-Hyundai-Sonata. I immediately
burst into tears. Thankfully, me, nor my mother or my brother (who
was in the backseat) were injured. But my car was destroyed. The
driver hopped out and immediately apologized and admitted that he had
been on his phone. I couldn’t believe it. As my shoulders wracked
with sobs, I thought: What could be soooo important on his phone that
he was going full speed and completely unaware of his surroundings?
I’ll never know.

In order to be a
safer driver and ensure I’m surrounded by good drivers, my parents
have installed a tracking system on our phones, called Life360. It
creates weekly driving reports as well as daily reports that notify
my parents of the speed of the car I’m driving in, hard braking,
rapid acceleration, high speeds, and how often I use my phone. The
app is a constant reminder that even though I may not be driving,
that my parents are watching. They are alwaysss watching. In fact,
once I was on a date and the app notified my parents that my date was
going 87 miles per hour on the highway. They knew that it was
excessively fast and they also knew that it was during a terrible
storm. I was never allowed to see that guy again. And I was ok with
it. Remember, I’ve seen pictures.