How Defensive Driving Can Prevent Accidents

Driver’s Ed can properly instruct students how to drive defensively, thus reducing the number of highway deaths. In my life I have seen various times when driver’s ed training would have come in handy when driving. Important things learned from a proper driver’s education include observing the right of way, not tailgating/proper defensive driving to combat the risk of tailgating, properly adjusting your mirrors/using a backer when necessary, and how to drive in inclement weather.

I was in my first car accident in high school. Our choir had gone to California on tour, so we were on a big bus and I did not see the collision, but I felt it. What felt like the bus driving over the curb had actually been a collision with a pickup truck. As we waited for the fire department to come open the bus doors that had been damaged in the accident, we learned that our bus had turned left, cutting off the pickup truck that hit our side. Luckily no one was hurt, but even with no fatalities, a car accident affects everyone involved. In this case, I’m sure our bus driver’s job was affected, we had to get a new bus for the remainder of the tour, the driver of the other truck likely needed repairs, and all of us were delayed in getting to our destinations. Additionally, if our bus driver had observed the right of way and waited to proceed, the accident would have been avoided.

One summer, I was driving through some suburbs in Salt Lake County when I stopped at a yellow light. As soon as I had completed my stop, I was hit from behind and pushed through the intersection. I pulled over and got out of the car. Again, no one was hurt, but both cars were totaled. This experience has made me more aware of when others are tailgating me, especially as I am approaching a light. When someone is tailgating me, I increase the distance between me and the next car in front of me, having learned in driver’s ed that this as part of defensive driving, I need to compensate for the other driver’s lack of time to stop, creating time for both of us to stop. Additionally, when I approach a light, I try to slow down earlier if I am unsure if I will make it through the light.

The last time my car was hit, I was not in it—it was hit in a parking lot. The other driver had hit my car with the trailer on the back of his truck that he was backing out. Even when other cars are stopped around you, careful driving is still important. If the driver had adjusted his mirrors properly, he would have seen my car. Additionally, he could have asked someone to back him. When I was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when driving, the passenger was told to act as a co-pilot, helping the driver, whether that was acting as the dreaded backseat driver or assisting in backing the driver. The cars we drove on my mission had backup cameras, so I initially thought that requiring my companion to back me up was redundant. However, one time I was backing into a tight spot and nicked a pillar with the side of the car. If I had someone backing me, she could have stopped me before I hit the pillar. Additionally, a backer would have prevented my car from getting hit in that parking lot several years later.

Finally, Driver’s Ed teaches students how to drive in inclement weather conditions. One morning, I was driving to Logan from Pleasant Grove in February after a snow storm. The roads had been plowed, but there was still plenty of slush on the roads, especially on the lines dividing the lanes. As I switched lanes too fast, I hit the slush between the lanes and my car fishtailed. I was lucky no cars were right next to me at the time, but since that day, I have driven much more carefully in the snow, even after the roads have been plowed. Additionally, even wind can be inclement weather. I saw a pickup truck towing a trailer on Redwood Road in Utah County one windy afternoon when the trailer started fishtailing. The trailer rolled, and the truck came to a stop blocking all lanes of east-bound traffic, with only the shoulder open. Luckily, other cars had seen the wayward trailer as I had, before the trailer rolled, so I was not the only one to increase my distance from the truck and trailer. Because other cars had been aware, no one was right next to the truck and trailer when the trailer rolled. In this instance, being aware of other drivers on the road had prevented other cars from being involved and had prevented a possible highway death.

In conclusion, the most important thing drivers can do to reduce the number of deaths is to drive defensively. Always be aware of other drivers—where they are and how they are driving. Other than the time my car was hit in the parking lot, defensive driving could have prevented or did prevent an accident.