NEWS FLASH: Road Accidents are a Major Issue.

Whether you like it or not, driving can be very risky. Sadly, numerous unfortunate souls die or are injured in car accidents each year due to traffic accidents. Some of these accidents were faultless, while others may have been caused by reckless behavior. No matter the cause, auto accidents are ranked alongside cancer and heart disease as the top causes of death in the United States. But this doesn’t have to be the reality we face. While halting this problem entirely seems like an unattainable dream, there are steps that we can take to curb accidents and make the roads safer for everyone. For this prompt, I will be tackling two of the main causes of road accidents: reckless driving and inexperience.

New drivers are turning onto our roads every day, and more often than not, inexperience is the cause of many accidents. These new drivers may not know the rules of road safety, or how to navigate the roadways with caution. This is why driver’s education is paramount in securing the safety of roads. Driver’s ed has been a very effective program for training new drivers for the roads. New drivers are required to take a driver’s ed course, as well as passing several driving exams and evaluations, before being eligible for a driver’s license. This guarantees that the driver is road-safe before being allowed out into traffic. Driver’s ed is also required for those who must re-obtain a license after losing one due to an offense. I can attest that these programs are very effective. When I was learning to drive three years ago, I felt very inexperienced when it came to the subject of operating a motor vehicle. I had to enroll in a training course lasting a couple of months. By the time I received my license, I felt confident enough to drive on my own. To this day, I have never been involved in a road accident and have never been apprehended by law enforcement. While this program isn’t 100% watertight, it makes sure that drivers have the experience they need to be safe on the roads.

While inexperience is an issue we have mostly solved thanks to driver’s ed, the problem of reckless driving isn’t as easy to pin down. This type of driving is a widespread problem. Reckless driving is defined as any type of driving that endangers the driver, their passengers, and other vehicles on the road. This includes driving under the influence, texting and driving, or simply driving and ignoring road safety laws. While I have never had an experience of someone I know driving recklessly, I know there are many out there who do. Reckless driving is the main factor behind traffic-related accidents, so how can we fight it? There are already laws in place on most roads that prohibit reckless driving. However, these cannot be enforced 100% of the time. One great solution is to increase exposure to anti-reckless driving activism. There are already many PSAs, ads, and other types of media that call attention to the dangers of reckless driving. Perhaps we could make this signage more common across our roadways, especially in areas where accidents are common. After all, if someone sees active reminders about an issue, they are more likely to be aware of that issue and thus avoid it. Another solution is to create an education course on the dangers of reckless driving, and make it mandatory for anyone caught driving dangerously to take it. Not only does this encourage drivers to drive safely, it also allows those who don’t obey road safety laws to see what they could have caused.

From an individual perspective, the best thing we can do is not drive dangerously. It doesn’t matter how late to work we are, or how fast we want to go. The road should be a safe place for every driver, so always follow all road safety laws. Drive while sober, focused, and alert. Obey all signage and traffic officials. Make sure friends and family are doing the same, and we should always speak up if we see someone driving dangerously. While the actions of one individual may not seem like much at a glance, one person can make the difference between a safer highway and another traffic accident. So let’s all do our part.

Overall, unsafe roads have been a problem ever since roads were a thing. Car accidents are among the top causes of death in first world countries such as the United States. To reduce the number of accidents and deaths on the roads, we need to make drivers, especially those who do not value road safety, more aware of how much of a danger reckless driving and inexperienced driving is. We need to keep the solutions that work while trying out new measures to further reduce the issue. The roads claim thousands of lives annually, but they don’t have to, if we are proactive in fighting it. The road is never truly safe, but the best thing we can do is get it as close to that as it can be.

Do your part. – Brent Emery .