Driver’s Education and My Personal Experience

Looking at the chart provided on the DmvEdu.org website, under the Driver Education Initiative Award page, the decreases in population over the years have a direct correlation to the motor vehicle crash deaths. This caused me to raise an eyebrow. The chart made me realize that motor vehicle accidents are more prevalent than I originally thought. I cannot begin to imagine the effect that handheld devices, such as our cell phones, have actually had on the number of motor vehicle deaths. Looking at the chart, there has been an increase in motor vehicle deaths from 2010-2020, which is about the time that the use of cell phones has been rising. My generation especially has been taught to limit distractions on the road. “Put your cell phone in the backseat.” “Silence your phone when you drive.” “Keep your music to a low volume.” These are things my mom would tell me. Even the driver’s education course I took to get my license, warned me about the dangers of distracted driving. I never really took it that seriously because I thought I was a good driver and could handle multitasking, but I understand now that I don’t want to be another statistic on some driver’s education website on motor vehicle accident deaths.

It is very important to talk about how deaths can be attributed to driving and vehicle accidents. Some people will take it very seriously. However, as in my case, some people take it lightly because they believe it will not happen to them. I guess some people like to think themselves immortal, or perfect, even. Driver education on accidents resulting in death is important because it puts the information in peoples head, but it is often overlooked by most because of personal biases. To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, I think it would be most effective to leave it up to technology companies and car manufacturers. For example, companies like Apple can come out with software updates that disable certain features, such as texting, when it detects motion that resembles a car. This way, calling is still an option, and people are still able to enjoy their music on a road trip. With updates, such as Siri, the screen can be disabled as well. This deters people from looking at their phones and paying more attention to the road in front of them. As for car manufacturers, when it comes to playing music, there should be a decibel limit on stereos at certain speeds. This would take some research, for sure. I understand, I am guilty of blasting my music at unhealthy volumes in my car. I MUST scream “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mixalot every time it comes on, however, this can be dangerous when I’m driving on Texas interstates and highways. These people down here are probably worse drivers than I am. So, I would urge car companies to restrict volumes at high levels of speed or in certain concentrations of traffic and urban areas. Wherever most accidents occur, distractions should be limited by technology because people cannot be trusted to regulate their own distraction-free environment.

It is safe to say that I have had my fair share of accidents on the road- some at the hands of others, and some at my own fault. I remember at around the age of 3, my mom looked in the backseat because I was complaining about tooth pain (she is a dental hygienist, so she got a little excited). Next thing I know, she rearends a car at the red light in front of us. I was definitely shaken up. However, nothing compares to the experience I had at 16 years old. About 6 months into having my license, I was taking my little sister and I to get tea after school. It was raining that day, but I paid no attention to that. All I was focused on was getting my sweet treat after a long week. The place wasn’t far and I was very familiar with the drive. I made a left turn into the middle turn lane to merge into traffic on the right of me. When I saw a clearing, I sped up, a lot. Next thing I knew, we were hydroplaning really bad. I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared that I froze. The tire of my truck hits a curb and the truck flips and rolls I don’t know how many times. By the grace of God, we hit a guard rail that was on the side of the road, and it flips us back up right, but facing oncoming traffic. I was in hysterics. Luckily, no one else got hit or injured. It was just my sister and I involved. The next 20 minutes of cleanup and questions felt like a whole 4 hours. That was probably the scariest moment of my life. Getting out of the wreckage, my foot was caught in between the door and my seat. My foot and ankle would have been completely crushed if I wasn’t in that truck that my dad had passed down from me that he’d had since 2008. I am in shock, every time I think about this experience, that my sister and I walked away with only minor scratches and some soreness. As I am writing this essay, all I can think about is how some things that I was doing during that drive, like talking to my sister, singing to my loud music, and speeding up too fast, are habits that I have slowly slipped back into. Even though that truck was totaled, and I have a smaller car that is easier to drive, I shouldn’t be distracting myself like I did that day. I never wish that fear upon anyone, so why do I continue to do the things that caused me to slip up and drive myself into hysterics? To that, I don’t know the answer. What I do know is that I have a second chance to change my habits today and put away distractions, turn down my music, pay more attention to myself, and focus on defensive driving anywhere I go. To help others, I can share this story of mine and encourage them to be safe because they might not get as lucky as I did.