Drive Safe: How to Prevent Death Behind the Wheel

Over 243 million people have a driver’s license in the United States. That means that approximately 73% of the United States population can drive. This high number is no surprise. Few cities in the United States have the infrastructure to support widespread, accessible public transportation to take drivers off the road. With millions of drivers come thousands of car accidents. Within a year, 43,000 fatal car crashes will occur in the United States alone. For drivers, safety is the number one concern. How can we make the roads a safer place to be on so every single person can make it home safe?

The first step to making the roads a safer place is educating drivers before they get behind the wheel. Some people are thrilled for the day they can finally sit behind the wheel, others are not, like myself. I procrastinated for months before I applied for a driver’s permit and enrolled in driving school. Some people see drivers’ education as an obstacle and want it to be over as quickly as possible. On the other hand, I never wanted to do drivers’ education, yet never wanted it to end. Every second behind the wheel was terrifying, and I never wanted them to hand me my permit. Despite this fear and dread, I am extraordinarily thankful for this experience.

Driver education gave me a safe space to learn and make mistakes. I had a qualified teacher by my side that taught me the basics of cars, such as which pedal was the brake, but also the advanced aspects, like parallel parking. With this education, I learned the safe, proper way to handle a car. Important points and safety tips were covered multiple times to ensure memorization. Driver education reduces the number of deaths from car accidents because it teaches people the proper procedures. Instead of being handed a license and dropped onto the road by myself, or with an adult who had zero teaching skills, I was prepared and took driving one step at a time. From theory in classes, to parking lots, neighborhoods, city streets, and then the freeway, driver’s education gradually teaches a lifetime skill in the safest way possible.

Driver education is just one step in reducing the amount of deaths caused by cars. The next steps are following procedures, awareness, and maintenance. Driver education teaches the procedures to be followed, but the next step is actually following them. Actions such as wearing a seatbelt, using your turn signal, checking your blind spots, following instructions written on signs, and so many more procedures are there for a reason. They ensure safety, and lead to less deaths. For example, speed limits are there for safety reasons. Not following a speed limit could lead to your car skidding out, or slipping off the road, flipping over, or making you unable to stop in time. All of these consequences will lead to serious injury, if not death.

The next step is awareness, which ties into following procedures. If you follow the steps of checking your blind spots, but you aren’t actually paying attention, accidents can still happen. Changes can happen in a second on the highway. Zoning out, or looking at your phone might cause you to miss the person merging into your lane, and then you hit them because you don’t have the time to react. The final step to reduce car related deaths is maintenance of your vehicle. The last thing you want on a busy street is to run out of gas, pop a tire, have your battery die, or for your brakes to malfunction. A car in poor maintenance is not a safe car.

Personally, I have been in two car accidents and witnessed driving irresponsibly, but all instances were fortunately minor. I have been in two fender benders where the car I was in was rear ended. In both cases, awareness was lacking. The first car accident was at a stop light. A car didn’t stop in time, hitting the car behind us. The car behind us was forced forward, into our car by the force of the impact. If the initial driver was paying attention, then the accident wouldn’t have happened. The second rear end was on an icy day. I was stopped, and the car behind me slid, hitting me. When exchanging information, the driver of the car, a high school student, admitted that they had hit another car yesterday. Winter driving takes practice and awareness. It takes longer to stop, and hitting the brakes too hard causes sliding. This driver clearly needed more practice.

I have witnessed my friends and family driving irresponsibly on many occasions, although all instances were minor. However, even minor instances can cause accidents or death. I have lost count of the amount of times I have witnessed a lack of turn signals, a glance at the phone, rolling stops, and deciding to run the yellow light instead of stopping. Of course, I am not immune from driving irresponsibly myself. To become a safer driver, I shouldn’t be looking down at the screen to change my music. I need to start slowing down sooner instead of hitting the brakes, and I need to get better at paying attention for whose turn it is at four-way stops. To help others be safer, I need to speak up more. I don’t always comment on a missed turn signal or a sped-through yellow light. If the people around me aren’t reminded to be safe, they are not going to change their ways alone. Hopefully, with reminders about why safety is important, the roads can become a safer place for all drivers.