Our Current Drive

Our
Current Drive

Driver
ed classes may be the very thing saving more people from dying in car
accidents than they currently are. In those 20-40 hours of
instructional time, the newcomers are exposed to the fundamentals of
a good driver,which they must conform to if they want to be out on
the open road. These lessons shape the novice driver to make good
judgement calls, perform basic vehicle maneuvers, practice a
defensive method of driving, and evolve into a better driver over
time. These classes provide the skills for a solid road record. Those
who take, pass, and graduate a drivers ed course apply those
foundational skills, thereby reducing their possibility of accidents
and
the number of deaths as well.

Yet
driver ed courses cannot fully compensate for the most notorious
cause of many driving accidents: distraction. Whether it’s a quick
glance at the radio or falling asleep at the wheel; distraction is a
negligence anyone could fall victim too. In fact, according to
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3166 people were
killed in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers in
2017. Only by limiting the amount of distractions on the road,
continual safe driving will increase. The most prominent examples of
this type of negligible driving often involves the use of mobile
devices while at the wheel. Since their inception in the early 2010s,
social media and messaging have been attributed to almost all
distracted driving related accidents according to one British study.
Common mitigation strategies would request stricter laws or phone
policies, but what if the answer already exists: the car itself? My
friends and I had a conversation about a car syncing a phone into a
Resting type mode, but more complex. Once synced to the car all
messages, calls, or notifications would be silenced and substituted
with a predetermined message. Later, normal cellular service would
resume. We even proposed the possibility for presets; they’d be
most useful for teens and elders. Cars already have this type of
technology, we just need to figure out the best implementation.

In
regards to my personal experience with car accidents, thankfully it
has only happened once. I was about seven when it happened, but I
vividly remember feeling that sudden jolt from behind. It renders you
shocked, because that jolt isn’t like a push or a shove, it’s at
thrust. Worse, was how scared my mom was, crying frantically as she
checked on me and my sister; my dad was outside tense about the
situation, never have I seen someone try so hard not to explode with
rage. Looking back on that experience, I think it’s put me in a
predisposition to always do the most to be a good driver.

The
best steps I could take to be a better driver would be to
consistently practice defensive driving, and encourage others to do
the same whether passively or actively. And if we capitalize on the
benefits of driver ed courses, then our roads will be much safer with
better drivers.