Driver Safety and Education: The Importance of Knowledge in Reducing Death

Driving is single handedly one of if not the most important tools for traveling in the United States. With how vast every city, state, and county are across the country and due to a lack of widespread public transportation, learning how to drive safely is pinnacle in the lives of Americans, to such an extent that it’s become an indicator of transitioning from childhood to adulthood. With the power of any vehicle, however, comes a very great responsibility: The lives of those in your vehicle, those around you, and yourself are hanging by a delicate thread that can snap in an instant if you or someone else takes a risky move while on the road, aren’t driving in accordance with weather conditions, or are distracted while behind the wheel.

Proper education is the first step taken towards any legal driving ventures, which makes it the best place to start informing future drivers of how to safely operate their vehicles. Through explaining everything from the laws related to driving to why a driver and their passengers should always be wearing seatbelts while in vehicles, driver’s education can start creating effective habits and appropriate knowledge to allow future drivers to know how to keep themselves and others safe. In addition, these courses also teach drivers how to properly react when someone else is driving recklessly so that they have a greater chance of walking away from those situations unscathed (or, at a bare minimum, alive).

The importance of driver’s education doesn’t just fall on the typical instances of teaching teenagers how to drive when they get their license, but it’s also important when teaching those who use vehicles for work to know how the rules of the road differ for them, as well as what other precautions they need to take to keep themselves and others safe. Through courses such as CDL training that teaches adults how to properly drive vehicles such as semis and log trucks, workers can learn not only how vastly different these vehicles are to drive from the one they received their first driver’s license for, but it also teaches them how quickly then can put someone else’s life in danger if they decide to take any risks while on the road (such as speeding while it’s raining or cutting slower drivers off).

This education is pinnacle in reducing driving-related deaths, and this education shouldn’t just occur in instances such as someone getting their first driver’s license or when someone is going for a CDL or similar licensing, but through lifelong education. This could be started by DMVs sending out email or paper mail pamphlets to those with driver’s licenses and permits that list important rules to follow year-round (such as why obeying the speed limit is important or the danger driving while intoxicated) and seasonally (such as how to effectively drive on ice or how to safely navigate summer traffic for areas that see a lot of tourism). In addition, workplaces could schedule seminars with DMV personnel to come into their establishments and give seminars on why safe driving is important, even if their field doesn’t require them to drive as part of their job (an example of this could be if a hospital gave a seminar on safe driving and informed staff that, if they get seriously injured or killed in an accident, that their patients will suffer as well due to not being able to receive their help). Lastly, I think it would be helpful if driving-related death statistics were frequently brought to attention through mediums such as social media or television channels. This can further help stress the importance of driving safely because it can show how anyone, no matter who they are, can lose their life from risky driving habits.

While I’ve never personally been in a car crash, my older brother, who works as a log truck driver in coastal Oregon, experienced one about a year ago. The weather that day was a torrential downpour: nothing but heavy rain, high winds, and flooding roadways as far as he was driving. He took all of the proper precautions he needed to based on his vehicle, such as driving slowly, giving other cars plenty of space, and keeping his headlights on so that people could see him. Some other drivers, however, thought that day and its horrendous weather would be perfect for speeding, weaving in-and-out of lanes on highways, and refusing to take safety seriously. They ended up hydroplaning around a corner right as my brother was rounding it and slid under the front wheels of his truck, resulting in their car being crushed and both of them being killed. While my brother was uninjured, he was shaken: He was constantly blaming himself for their deaths and had to take several weeks off before he felt comfortable driving again, even though what happened wasn’t his fault. Not only was our community shaken by the loss of young life, but I had to witness my own flesh and blood suffering internally because he thought he had killed two innocent people, even though there was nothing he could’ve done to save them, and he had done nothing to endanger them.

Several months after this incident, I started thinking: What can I do to ensure my driving is safer? I seldom drive as I don’t readily have access to a car coupled with very extreme anxiety, and even though I know the rules of the road and I’m considered to be a good driver by those who’ve been my passengers, I always fearfully think of situations that could happen while on the road that could result in serious injury or death of myself and others. While I can’t easily fix my current lack of a car, I decided the best place to start was rereading through road laws, being attentive to speed limit signs in areas that I may drive through for when I get a new car, and watching YouTube videos detailing what to do while driving in bad weather and your car skids or your vehicle starts hydroplaning. While I know that I cannot stop everyone from driving unsafely, I know that by equipping myself with knowledge, I can start by making sure that I and those around me are safe.