Staying Safe on the Road

Driver’s education has been around for almost as long as people have been driving cars, and in that time it has proven itself to be an effective tool in combating the societal plague of car accidents. Like many things, while cars undeniably enable modern society, they are a double-edged sword due to their proclivity towards accidents. However, these accidents can, much of the time, be avoided. Many drivers today are prone to distractions or worse, recklessness, but educating drivers and making sure all drivers are conscientious and careful on the road can decrease these dangerous behaviors and thus limit accidents overall.

Personally, I have taken a driver’s ed course and thus have seen the benefits of such a course firsthand. Without it, I would not have many integral driving skills that have allowed me to avoid many vehicular accidents. These kinds of skills only come from learning from an experienced driver, and ideally, a trained instructor. During my 6-months of informal instruction and a half dozen formal, on-the-road lessons I was taught how to drive on bumpy roads, in bad weather conditions, and highways, all situations in which, had I experienced them without training beforehand, could have ended disastrously. What I thought was one of the most helpful aspects of driver education was the distraction of having the teacher talking to you while you drive. The risk of a teen driver crashing doubles with another teen passenger, and triples with even more passengers (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, 2024). This crash risk due to driving peers is due to the distraction caused by the peers and Driver’s ed can teach teens to focus even with someone else in the car in a controlled environment. Other specific skills Driver’s Ed can cultivate are things like safe turning and stopping. Anyone who drives can tell you it takes much practice to hone in the ability to take curves in a controlled manner and stop when warranted. Driver’s ed is many teens’ first chance to practice these skills with someone who can tell them the specifics they should aim for when executing such maneuvers. Furthermore, emergency skills in specific situations can be practiced in Driver’s ed such as knowing how to pull over on a highway and pull back in. By far the most important benefit of Driver’s ed is instilling defensive driving tendencies in teens by building up defensive reactions to incidents that could occur, thereby avoiding possibly deadly accidents. However, driver’s ed is not the only way of stopping crashes.

Enforcing traffic laws can also prevent many crashes. While it may seem minor to some, speeding can cause many preventable crashes and thus enforcement of speed limits are an effective manner of preventing these types of accidents. Intersections are another area where crashes due to traffic violations are all too common. While it appears simple, increased enforcement of traffic laws is, undoubtedly, another great option to prevent accidents. Another way to improve road safety on the governmental level is with improvements to the road systems themselves, such as taking measures to ensure visibility and traction for drivers. Well kept roads stop crashes due to things like skidding and potholes, and things such as street lights can stop crashes due to lower visibility. Also, clearing roads during hazardous weather conditions, particularly snow and ice, is a very effective way at reducing all vehicular accidents in cold weather. In extreme cases, localities can declare a state of emergency to keep people from risking their lives by taking to the roadways.

Other ways to improve road safety is through citizen-run efforts to raise awareness. In the end, regular, dedicated people can influence change when they band together to monitor their neighborhoods for speeding, failure to stop, distracted driving, and other risky driving behaviors. Peer/community pressure can create an environment where safe driving is valued and dangerous behaviors are self-monitored by the community at large.

Another way to lower fatalities from driving is through investment into safety improvements in cars. Modern cars have many improvements in safety from those of the past, but more improvements are always possible. Crumple zones and airbags already save countless lives so requiring that cars have both is evidently effective. Other newer advances that can assist in saving lives are antilock brakes, collision warning, lane departure warnings, and automatic headlights. While these are helpful they cannot be completely relied on by the driver but act as a driver’s aid or even a last resort to stop crashes.

Personally I have never experienced a car accident, but I have been witness to my friends driving irresponsibly, many times out of ignorance. I have seen my friends text while driving even when I am in the car, putting all of us in danger. Even worse, I have heard about people I know racing their cars on highways and doing other reckless actions on the road at the same time. I feel as though these are out of ignorance of the all too real consequences that can come from reckless driving. It seems, to me at least, that they do not understand the responsibility that comes with driving and thus take it for granted that in driving they become responsible for anyone hurt by their thoughtless actions behind the wheel. They place too much priority on the short term thrill or convenience as opposed to the much more grave risk to their lives and well-being.

Driving has always been somewhat dangerous, but danger can be mitigated and thus lives saved, it just takes great effort from all people collectively. Driver’s Education courses, stricter enforcement of traffic laws, and improved roadways are all techniques that society and governments can use to reduce senseless auto fatalities. While it may be hard, there is no doubt it is worth it for the grievous injury and death that can be avoided.