Flying Cars and Avoiding Death: Becoming a Safer Driver

By reading Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets, one develops a mistaken view of the simplicity of driving a car. The flying car that Harry Potter and his friend Ron Weasley drove would be a dream: no intersections to navigate, zero traffic, ideal weather conditions, and of course, the fact that it was mostly self-driving. Unfortunately for us non-wizarding folk, driving isn’t that simple. Despite this, there are still many lessons that can be learned from this story, even if you don’t plan to fly a car anytime soon. 

Consider this question: how are you most likely to die? A myriad of answers may come to mind, from heart disease to stroke and various other ailments. Harry would probably argue that his biggest threat was Voldemort, but for us Muggles, there’s one danger that tops them all: road crashes. According to studies, road crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers (n.d). 

Now, this doesn’t mean we should avoid driving at all. Sometimes you just have to get to class, as Harry and Ron discovered. For financial and logistical reasons, driving is a reality that has to be accepted in today’s bustling, active world. Alternatively, understanding the importance of driving education and actively taking steps to maximize safety will help avoid accidents. 

If Ron and Harry had received driving education, they would have been able to learn about the significance of road safety, traffic laws, and general vehicle operation information. Most importantly for them, they would have also learned about the various components that make up a car. When they started to notice problems with the car, this knowledge could have helped them react safely, avoiding injuries and property damage. 

Driving education also instills a sense of responsibility and provides the reminder that various lives are at risk when someone handles a vehicle. According to statistics, negligent driving, which is where a driver does not act responsibly in the situation, accounts for 42% of car accidents (n.d). Driving education can help prevent these occurrences, as students learn about various scenarios that can occur and the best actions to take as a result, and will have that sense of responsibility instilled within them. Beyond this course, there’s also further education that can be beneficial, such as defensive driving courses, to help prevent death. 

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the number of deaths that occur on the road. In The Chamber of Secrets, the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office should have been more diligent in closing loopholes that allow for enchanted, flying cars. In locations that receive a significant amount of snow, municipal governments should ensure that they have set up timely and adequate maintenance (e.g. snowplows) to make the roads safer. Currently, only some U.S. states and Canadian provinces offer insurance discounts for participating in driving education, but that could be expanded to all states and provinces to incentivize people to take driving education. When creating roads, extra consideration could be added to creating designated bike lanes, resulting in improved traffic flow and a reduction in the risk of accidents and injuries for cyclists and drivers. 

In fact, according to the World Health Institute, road design can have a significant impact on making roads safer. For example, roundabouts and traffic circles help reduce deaths and serious injuries by 70-90%, as drivers are forced to slow down and become more aware of their surroundings (2018). There is also a lower chance of head-on collisions. Furthermore, narrower lanes improve safety for drivers and pedestrians. It reduces the length of pedestrian crossings, and because the lanes are narrower, drivers feel a more keen sense of risk, making them more likely to reduce their speed and prevent accidents. A large aspect of making roads safer, and therefore, preventing deaths, lies in the hands of the federal and provincial/state governments and city planners.  

However, we can’t leave all the responsibility to these governing bodies. On an individual level, drivers have a very significant part to play in being better and safer drivers. The first, and perhaps the biggest action to take, is to ensure that you are focused and ready to drive. That means not driving under the influence of alcohol, Polyjuice Potions, or other substances, as this impairs your understanding of your surroundings, slows your reflexes, and significantly increases the chances of getting into a car accident. This also means avoiding distractions – especially one’s phone. Luckily for Harry and Ron, they didn’t have access to smartphones, although access to magic may have been a sufficient distraction. Unfortunately, humans were not made to multitask, no matter how much we wish we were. 

Aside from ensuring that you are present, alert, and focused, practicing defensive driving will make it safer for yourself and others on the road. This means maintaining a good following distance behind other cars so that if the car in front of you abruptly stops or does something you are not expecting, you have time and space to slow down and react safely. A safe following distance is a minimum of 2 to 3 seconds. Furthermore, aligning yourself with the principles of defensive driving means to anticipate and react to any difficulties that occur, such as adjusting one’s speed and following distance in times of bad weather. For example, Ron and Harry could have tried to anticipate future problems such as their engine giving out, and prepared to land in a safer place, further away from Hogwarts. This would have prevented significant damage and injuries, some of which could have been fatal if Harry and Ron weren’t lucky.

I’ve been lucky enough to never have been in a car accident, however, there have been many close calls. It’s a struggle to convince some family members to stay off their phones when they drive. Even if they’ve never been in a car accident in their years of driving with bad habits, it doesn’t mean they’re immune to car accidents, yet, it is a logical fallacy that many drivers fall into. 

Readers can agree that Harry and Ron learned several lessons that day as they finished their journey to Hogwarts with various injuries, a damaged car, and a broken wand. However, readers themselves can also learn about how driving education, collective action, and individual choices could have made the trip a safer journey. While we can’t fly cars just yet, these principles are still very valuable to preventing injury and death and being safer on the road.