Reckless Driving: A Change is Needed

Reckless Driving: A Change is Needed

According to statistics compiled by the CDC, about 3,700 people are killed globally in crashes involving vehicles. Each year, these crashes result in the deaths of 1.35 million people around the world. Due to the absurd number of crashes and deaths that occur each year due to crashes involving vehicles, crash injuries are estimated to be the eight-leading cause of death globally for children and young adults ages 5-29. (CDC, 2020) This means that more people now die in crashes than they do of HIV/AIDS. This should not be the case. The deaths of our friends, family, acquaintances, favorite musicians, and favorite actors can be prevented. By improving the quality of driving education that is taught in schools and communities, limiting the number of distractions present while driving, and by wearing a seat belt we can all make driving safer for everyone.

Traditional driving education primarily focuses on teaching the leaner how to master the specific skills and maneuvers of a vehicle, which includes skills such as vehicle control, road and traffic routines, and how to handle interactions with other drivers. While these skills are essential for every driver to learn and master, knowing and mastering just these skills alone will not be enough in order for a driver to understand how to drive safely. The GDE matrix (Goals for Driver Education), which was initially developed as a result of EU’s GADGET project not only teaches learners vehicle control, but also other vital skills each driver needs to drive safely. The skills that are emphasized that the novice driver should have include learning how to drive in specific traffic situations, discussing with students the goals that they have behind driving, discussing with students the context in which driving should or should not be performed, and finally discussing with the students the personal motives and tendencies which may lead to that person being in a crash and challenges the learner to think deeply about the type of driver that they want to become. If more schools and communities around the world base their driver’s education training and testing system off of the GDE, then more well-rounded novice-drivers would be produced and there would be a reduction of car-related accidents.

1 in 8 people in the US are killed in crashes that involve a distracted driver. (CDC, 2020) But what qualifies as a distraction you may ask? A distraction qualifies as anything that takes your attention away from driving. This includes cell phones, eating while driving, or even using a GPS while driving. Young adults and teens are the most for distracted driving. I personally can attest to this because I’ve personally been in an accident while riding with a friend that could have been prevented if he was not looking down at his phone while driving. We can all reduce distracted driving by holding ourselves and the people who are driving us if we are a passenger accountable. This can be done by making sure that no matter how tempting it may be to take a bite out of that burger that is sitting near our lap, or responding to that text from a friend, that we must wait until our car is parked away from traffic before we do any of those things and also to remind the people who are driving us to refrain from those activities while driving as well.

Seat belt use is one of the most effective ways for a person to save their own life and reduce the severity of the injuries they were to encounter a car accident. However, millions of people voluntarily do not use their seatbelt while their driving. In 2018, about 23,000 drivers and passengers died in motor vehicle crashes, and about half of teens and adults aged 20-44 who died did not have their seatbelt on at the time of the crash. A majority of those deaths could have easily been prevented if the seatbelt was used before the time of the crash, and those deaths highlight how important it is for us to use our seatbelts every time we are moving within a car; it does not matter whether we are driving or a passenger.

Hundreds of thousands of people die each year due to car crashes but it doesn’t have to remain like this. By pushing for the quality of the driver’s education that is being taught in schools and communities, by getting rid of the distractions while we or someone else is driving, and by wearing our seat belts we can all help ourselves and others become safer on the road.