My Nursing School Origin Story: Safe Driving Edition

Statistics show that driver’s education courses reduce the number of driving related deaths, making it an essential component in increasing driving safety. As stated in the prompt, there is an annual average of 34,000 driving related deaths. Drivers who receive driver’s education make up 11.1% percent of accidents compared to the 12.9% who did not receive driver’s education. While 1.8% may not seem like a notable difference, 612 lives saved annually is.

I found this opportunity while looking for scholarships to help me pay for my upcoming semester of nursing classes. I joined a nursing program because of a car accident, so finding this scholarship was very serendipitous. You might be wondering how, in my story at least, nursing and drivers’ education are connected. Well, the story begins on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, where I completed my undergraduate degree in biochemistry. I lived on campus and worked as a pharmacy technician saving money for a car, so I could drive home to New York to see my friends and family.

On this particular day I was walking around campus searching for food, something I did daily. But, what appeared to be a routine day would quickly become a pivotal moment in my life. Suddenly, I heard squealing tires. Then screaming. I looked ahead to figure out where the commotion was and noticed a young lady laid out in the middle of the crosswalk and a convertible near her. There had been an accident. A pedestrian had been hit.

I immediately felt inclined to act but wasn’t sure I could be helpful. Even so, I ran over to the scene. I instructed a bystander to call 911 and began talking to the young girl in hopes of keeping her conscious as a pool of blood had began forming around her head. While waiting for emergency services, I called my mom, a registered nurse, and put her on speaker. After informing her of the situation, she began walking me through what to do next. “Is the wound on her head on the pavement? Don’t move her. Is she alert? Keep her calm.”

In that moment all I could think was “What a hero. My mom, the nurse. Saving lives even when states away.”  My mom has also given me some of the best driving advice I have received to date. She always says, “Drive for yourself but also, drive for the other drivers.” When she first told me this I didn’t understand what she meant, and admittedly her words initially fell on deaf ears. However, over the years and as my driving experience has grown, I’ve come to regard her words as the most sound driving advice I’ve received.

When I turned 16, I badgered my parents endlessly to teach me to drive and they were adamant that I would only be allowed to learn if I first attended a defensive driver’s education course. Their concern was my safety and the safety of others. By enrolling me in a defensive driving course, they were taking the initiative to reduce the likelihood that I would cause accidents on the road. Did it completely eliminate the possibility that I could end up in an accident? No, preventative measures are meant to decrease risk not eliminate it. But, it did equip me with the tools to effectively assess risk to better avoid and prevent accidents.

Having received driver’s education, I can attest to the fact that it has made me a more attentive driver. I had the privilege of learning directly from the more experienced drivers leading the course. The instructor explained and emphasized the importance of regularly using all three of your mirrors to keep an eye on the actions of other drivers around you. He spoke from his own personal experience and shared a story that I’ll always remember.

While teaching students to drive, a car sped down a hill toward them. Because he and the student driver were checking all three mirrors, they were able to observe and be aware of the actions of the driver speeding toward them. This awareness allowed the instructor and student driver to safely maneuver themselves and the car’s occupants out of the way of serious harm. They were still hit in the rear of the car, unfortunately, but because they had been aware of the risk present and were able to act accordingly, they were not harmed.

To conclude, driver’s education is a very important resource for providing drivers the necessary tools to avoid accidents and deaths. My own personal experiences with life threatening accidents showed just how quickly an accident can happen and how quickly an accident can change your life.