The Innovation of Technology and Importance of Education in Safe Driving

Project
Graham
was an art installation made by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini.
It created the ideal man who could survive car crashes, with many odd
features. He had knees that could bend in all directions, a chest
with built-in airbags to protect his rib cage, and a large skull that
could protect his brain. Obviously, people aren’t built to survive
car accidents like Graham. More people are driving more than ever,
and fatal collision rates continue to rise. But how can we stop this?
Each year, car safety technology gets better and better, helping
people drive safer. Now engineers are even looking into the potential
of self-driving cars. But future innovation means nothing without
proper rules that enforce and promote safe driving.

As
more people get on the road, so do the number of unsafe drivers. A
better drivers ed is needed to teach new drivers the rules
of the road, as a teenager’s first year of driving could be the
most dangerous year of their life. A way to improve this problem is
by having a national standard for all drivers’ education courses.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created
guidelines in 2012, but they do not actively enforce them. Also the
way we teach safe driving needs to be updated. One way to do this is
to fund the use of digital driving simulators, it teaches drivers the
ins and outs of driving without the risk of injury or death.

Speeding
is one of the leading causes of fatal car accidents, being the cause
for 26% of fatalities in 2017¹.
On highways, people don’t usually follow the speed limit to a tee. 
Instead, they drive at whatever speed they feel comfortable with.
Lowering the limit might not produce significant long-term results in
the reduction of traffic accidents. Speed limits need to be based
around the average of drivers on certain roadways. The odds of
getting into an accident increase the slower or faster you drive from
the road’s average. So in an odd way, some speed limits may need to
go up, as long as people continue to drive faster.

In
recent years, car safety technology has improved tremendously.
Technology is now more focused on giving the driver an extra set of
eyes on the road. Engineers are looking towards automated driving.
Self-driving cars have the potential to save lives and reduce
injuries on the road, as it would take out the consequences of human
error when driving. According to the NHTSA, in 2017, there were 9,717
fatalities due to speeding related accidents²,
and 3,166 accidents caused by distracted driving³.
A road filled with self-driving cars would lead to more efficient
roads and possibly faster travel times, as they would all be able to
drive at a standardized speed.

Car
safety technology will continue to improve, but in the meantime,
education and laws also need to keep pace with the increasing number
of distractions on the road. Education would help new drivers be
confident on the road, helping create safer roads. Basing speed
limits around averages would increase traffic flow, while also
increasing driver safety in a rather unconventional way. And
self-driving cars have the potential to give passengers the ability
to see things they can’t and control forces that could be out of
their hands. Every goal starts with small steps, including safe
driving.