Driving Responsibility

Around 11:30 PM on a warm summer night, I received a call from my best friend. She had just been over at my house. We ate dinner and watched a movie before she left. I thought she had simply forgotten something and wanted to circle back to pick it up, but when I answered my phone, her words sent a cold shiver over my skin.

“Can you come please? I’ve been in an accident! It’s really bad. Please hurry,” the tone of her voice was distressed and disoriented like I had never heard before.

Minutes after waking my dad, we arrived at the scene. My friend was sitting on the curb a safe distance away from the two wrecked cars. She was shaking, but she was standing on her own two feet. I ran over to her, the breeze relieving the unease in my face. Thankfully, she had sustained as much as a minor concussion, and the other driver was okay. I remember how I felt when I hugged her that night. How lucky she was to be okay. How lucky I was to have been able to hug her then. Everything could have changed in that moment.

I had always been anxious about loved ones driving home during late hours. Not because I lack confidence in their driving abilities, but because of terrible stories I have heard about children losing their parents due to a negligent driver.

My many worries only increased in the week after her accident. I began to truly see the consequences of careless driving mistakes. The rules are in place because, sadly, people have already learned the hard way that impaired, distracted, and irresponsible driving can destroy the lives of many in an instant. I believe that if people become fully aware that their poor behaviour while driving will result in someone’s death, they will concentrate more on safety and caution. An example of this case is myself.

Being a new driver for eight months, I am familiar with the rules of the road. I am fortunate enough to have taken lessons to build safe habits, but as I have grown more comfortable behind the wheel, I have begun to take shortcuts while driving – as I have seen the adults in my life do. Rolling stops. Mirror checks instead of shoulder checks. But then I found out that my best friend was hit by someone who chose not to obey a STOP sign and unwaveringly drove through a curved, obstructed-view two-way stop intersection. This moment taught me the consequences of ignoring traffic laws. Since then I have scanned every intersection, followed traffic signs, stored my phone in the glove box, and shoulder checked every lane change and turn.

In addition to knowing the outcomes of reckless driving, it is important to understand the main causes of fatal accidents. Statistics Canada reported that in over half of the fatal accidents that occurred in Canada in 2019, factors like drugs, alcohol, fatigue, distraction, unfastened seat belts, speeding, unideal road conditions, and mechanical unreliability of the vehicle resulted in the crash. There were also cases where more than one of these factors contributed to the fatality.

However, all of these choices are preventable. The appropriate laws have been put in place to reduce unsafe driving. Governments, first responders, and activists are doing a great job using resources like commercials and social media posts to raise awareness about this issue. Ultimately, though, it is the decisions that we make as drivers that affect our safety and everyone around us. In a world where everyone chooses to instead call for a taxi, pull over and take a nap, keep their phone out of reach, fasten their seat belt, and follow the rules, I believe that driving skill and awareness would then determine the causes of accidents on the road.

Building skills requires much practice and guidance from a teacher. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to afford lessons in driving. To create the safest possible driving environment, I believe that lessons should be accessible to everyone who needs to learn. This can come from government funding or something similar to a volunteer service. Additionally, I propose a mandatory driving assessment that is led by qualified evaluators that takes place every two years after one earns their full license. This would provide greater motivation for drivers to maintain their attention to proper details in order to meet the required legal safety standard.

With growing technologies and rising understanding about fatal road collisions, I am hopeful that the future will bring lower numbers of accidents. However, as we cannot yet rely on self-driving cars to keep us safe and get us where we need to go, I believe that knowing the causes and consequences, making responsible decisions, and fine-tuning our skills to limit driving errors are the most important steps to take towards creating safe roads for everyone.