Explicit, not Implied

My dad gripped his steering wheel tighter and peered closely through the rain-splattered windows, carefully maneuvering the crowded intersection at the crowded (and confusingly named) Triangle Square in Costa Mesa. At a red light, the car in front of him suddenly drove backward, slamming the back of their car into his own. The airbag burst open, leaving bruises and burns on his hands from the friction.

Though my dad was carefully following road-safety rules, he was hurt because another driver wasn’t as careful. Since front collisions are far more common than rear collisions, the insurance dispute lasted for months, ending in a frustrating “no-fault” ruling. The driver who had crashed his car into the hood of my father’s car only had to pay for the repairs for his car, but my dad had to repair the hood of his while recovering from the severe burns on his hands.

These types of accidents reflect the difference between the driver culture and driver education. Historically, research on drivers and driver education has almost entirely focused on individual mistakes or influences that lead to crashes and accidents, such as lapses in judgment, the influence of alcohol or drugs, and deliberate neglect of safety laws. However, the high differences of driver fatalities between states—South Carolina’s is as high as 23 deaths per 100,000 drivers, while Rhode Island is as low as 5.7 deaths per 100,000 drivers —indicates other factors influence driver fatalities such as local driver culture. Drivers who primarily drive in densely urban areas differ from those who drive in suburban or rural areas, but most driver education does not emphasize this information. But even as a passenger with time to stare at other cars, I can tell you that it’s nearly impossible to distinguish an urban driver from a suburban one at a quick glance on the road, so driver’s education must not only raise awareness of but also unify these different cultures.

Shifting driver’s education can prevent accidents that occur from misreading or misunderstanding other drivers on the road. 94% of car accidents are from human error, many of which from misreading or misunderstanding other drivers: wrong-way crashes, misunderstanding right-of-way rules, misreading a sign, and more. For example, foggy and rainy skies prevent drivers from properly seeing their environment and signs, which they are dependent on to lower their acceleration, and are confident that there is no sign that they crash.

These misunderstandings come from differences between driving cultures, especially when they clash, as well as the advances and changes to cars that driver education does not take into account—increasing vehicle size, manufacturer preference for red over amber signals, and rudimentary automated-driving features.

Making driver’s education mandatory for all high-school students can prevent accidents that occur because of students’ ignorance of driver culture and protocol. Students, especially those who ride scooters and bikes, do not have a knowledge of driver culture and rules and can cause accidents.

For example, my dad was driving me to school when suddenly he came to an abrupt stop in an intersection. I was shocked that we had suddenly stopped and was worried that we had gotten into an accident. In front of us were a couple of oblivious students e-biking to school in a situation where the right of way was unclear. I was relieved that no one had gotten hurt, but I couldn’t help but imagine the consequences if my dad hadn’t been able to stop in time. Because these students were not aware of driving rules and had turned without signaling, they were not able to predict driver behavior and almost got into an accident. This isn’t just about responsibility; it’s about a lack of clarity and shared understanding of road etiquette.

As I go through driver’s education and earn my driver’s license, I endeavor to raise awareness for my friends to follow all signs to avoid driver-pedestrian accidents. Pedestrians often get into accidents because they underestimate the time it takes to walk a short distance across the road and trick themselves into thinking that they do not need to follow crosswalk signs because cars won’t be fast enough to hit them anyway. It is because of this that pedestrian deaths rose 26% between 2014 and 2018. Unfortunately, as my previous example shows, cars are fast enough and people—even on e-bikes—aren’t. We must all prioritize following safety laws to prevent these incidents from becoming even more common. Implied driving norms might change area to area, but rules remain constant. Addressing the misunderstandings that cause accidents can come from even the smallest actions.