Drivers Education Initiative Award Essay

 

 

The war in Afghanistan was going on from 2001, all the way until 2021. Throughout all 20 years American soldiers were fighting in Afghanistan, 2,432 deaths were accumulated. Afghanistan is a third-world country, with little ability to meet human needs and is commonly struck with terrorist violence. The flagrant situation in Afghanistan is much different than the day-to-day life in America. In the United States, there is a great economy and great infrastructure with an emphasis on safety. When compared, the two are definitively divergent. The reason for starting the essay with this seemingly irrelevant idea is to elicit perspective. With America’s great roads and strive for safety, the situation of driving in America should be deemed safe; however, this is far from the truth.

Driving is a privilege looked forward to by all teenagers nearing the age of 16. They are ready to grasp freedom and earn independence through driving. It is unrealized, however, that these children are being put at risk while behind the wheel; and this is due to improper education of driving. In 2020, the total number of motor vehicle crash-related deaths tallied at around 42,000. That’s over 20 times the total number of deaths in Afghanistan over a 20-year timeframe. All accidents come down to a mistake, no matter what the outcome, someone made a mistake to be in that situation. Mistakes are most susceptible to happen when proper education and training have been overlooked. Every year new drivers are put behind the wheel, and the only proper education they have up until that point is a semester-long driver’s education course. 18 mediocre weeks of learning how to safely drive a 4,000+ pound machine 65 miles per hour. Drivers are forced to experience distractions such as other drivers, or inclement weather like snow or hail. The severity of driving a vehicle is severely overlooked. When drivers enter a car, there should be no situation they have not been properly prepared for through education. The common saying, “practice makes perfect”, translates perfectly to driving; however, the practice of driving should come in the form of simulations or simple education. The practice should not come in the form of putting unprepared students behind the wheel who are bound to make mistakes and risk not only their own lives but also the lives of the drivers around them. Proper education would reduce the chance for mistakes, by reducing the chance for mistakes, the number of crashes would be reduced; therefore exponentially reducing the number of motor vehicle deaths per year. What other steps can be taken to reduce the number of driving-related deaths?

While education is at the forefront of creating a safer driving environment, there are more ways to promote safety on the road. Near all drivers are always looking for one thing as they are driving down any road, law enforcement. There is a distinct cause and effect when it comes to seeing police parked and watching for unsafe drivers. The cause is the cop being there in the first place, but the interesting effect is everyone seems to be avid law followers for the 300 feet they are in the cops’ view. Having increased traffic law enforcement would force drivers to be alert and responsible drivers. Some people, however, are always going to find a way to speed and drive erratically. Their actions are putting themselves in danger, but they are also putting everyone else who is on the road in danger. Car manufacturers should have safety as a top priority and work avidly towards making the safest car on the road. Including things like responsive seatbelts, active airbags, and high-quality car framework that can absorb most of the hit from another vehicle. If everyone with a license is driving around in metaphorical bubbles, when they hit another person very little damage is done. Driving irresponsibly is incredibly common in the modern day, and accidents can affect everyone.

When I was younger, my parents got into a minor car accident. It happened right outside a pizza place where my grandparents, my sister, and I were all eating waiting for my parents’ arrival. We were sitting in a window booth and could view the relatively quiet street beyond the parking lot. Actively watching the window, my sister and I both view our parents in the turn lane to get into the parking lot to come eat with us. We see them patiently waiting for cars to pass to make a safe left turn into the parking lot. In a flash, and car of similar size hit the back of them going well over the speed limit. Our Toyota Forerunner absorbed much of the hit and received relatively little damage for how fast the guy was driving. At this age, I wasn’t truly aware of the effects of a car crash. I remember waiting for my parents to get out unharmed and unrealistically expecting them to come to eat a pizza with us. What I wasn’t expecting was an ambulance to show up because my mom was in too much pain to get out of the car. That was the beginning of a multi-year struggle for my mom. Her back pain made it impossible to do the things she did with ease before the accident. She tried acupuncture and direct shots into her lower back in an attempt to alleviate the temporary pain in which she was in. My mom still suffers from immense back pain years later and is a constant reminder of what happens should you not drive alert and safely.

Driving safely is a quick fix that takes little to no effort and can make an astronomical difference in people’s lives. Personally, I make an effort every time I drive to not let my car go above 2,500 rpms, this in my head saves gas and prevents me from accelerating at an unsafe rate. Another habit that I do while driving is putting my phone into my middle console before I start my car; which keeps my phone out of sight and prevents the urge to get on it while driving. I believe that leading by example could have a large impact on how my peers drive. When they see I have no tickets, no accidents, and am a trusted driver, they might change their driving habits to match mine. When I ride with friends, I always tell them, “Hey, I have Life360 and my mom will get very mad if she sees us speeding.”, simply to keep my friends driving under the speed limit and safely taking us where we need to go.

While driving is certainly a privilege, it is also a necessity in today’s society. With everyone needing to drive, it is important that it is done safely in order to reduce driving-related deaths. Nobody wants to be the person who takes a life due to their irresponsible actions, especially knowing they are so easy to avoid. Driving is a relatively fun aspect of life, but should without a doubt be taken seriously and executed safely.

Kyler Gross