A Video Game With A Big Impact

Driver Education Initiative Award

“What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving? What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving? Have you ever had an experience of being in a car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly? What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?”

My (Passive) Car Accident Experience. In 2016, I was a regular nine-year-old doing what I loved doing at that age, playing video games. Unfortunately, there was one video game I played that had a sad effect on me. The video game I am talking about is one of my favorite video games of all time and my favorite basketball video game ever, NBA 2k16 (a basketball video game released in 2015). Now, how could a basketball video game, my favorite basketball video game of all time, have a sad effect on me? In the video game NBA 2k16, you can play four video game modes: Play Now, MyCareer, MyGym/MyLeague, and Myteam. The video game mode I am specifically talking about is MyCareer. In review, MyCareer is a video game mode that follows the journey of the players you created to the NBA and their stardom. Every NBA2K video game they change the story, to keep it new and fresh. But, in NBA 2K16, the storyline is as good as a Spike Lee movie production.

In this storyline, there is the character named Freq (your created player) and a character named Vic (Freq’s best friend). Freq is a seasoned NBA player and has reached a point in his career where he has reached free agency (you become a free agent when your NBA contract expires with your previous team). During this cutscene, Freq is at his press conference announcing the new team he will be signing with. He notices that his best friend Vic is not at the press conference but does not think much of it. Freq announces his new NBA team and celebrates with his agent and loved ones. While celebrating, Freq gets a telephone call from a Police Officer, and he tells Freq the tragic news of what had happened to his best friend Vic. The Police Officer reveals that Vic was speeding on the road and eventually lost control of his car and crashed. It was during this moment that this video game affected me. I was so immersed in the video game’s story that this car accident scene caused me to feel bad for Freq and the people who loved Vic (it was only a video game in a fake reality). I could not fathom how one would even start to cope and deal with a death like this if it had occurred in real life to somebody who you love.

Driver Education, the Importance. Car accidents that are the result of speeding are the type of car related accidents/deaths that are preventable and have you wondering why someone would do such a thing. This is why I believe driver education is important in reducing driver’s death. With driver education, you get taught how to drive and learn important rules on the road. I think that getting taught how to drive correctly is important because knowing how to drive correctly can help you avoid car accidents to the best of your ability. With more people taking driving education courses and correctly learning how to drive, it directly correlates with a decrease in car accidents and crashes which lowers the number of car-related deaths due to driving.

Preventable Steps. Individually, there are some steps that could be taken to try to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. Some steps that I believe could be taken to reduce car-related accidents/deaths are harsher penalties and making it mandatory for newer drivers to go through driver education training. Harsher penalties could be fundamental when trying to reduce driver accidents/deaths. Harsher penalties towards reckless drivers will make people who do wrong while driving think twice before committing their negative act(s) (i.e., driving under the influence, texting while driving, or driving recklessly). Making driver education mandatory for new drivers can lead to reduced accidents/deaths on the road. Driver education courses teach you all that you need to know about driving. Personally, I do not see how this is not beneficial as it puts more informed and fundamentally sound drivers on the road. If more people know how to drive correctly, fewer car accidents/deaths will happen. This does not mean that car accidents/deaths still will not occur (because accidents will always happen), but they will be reduced with better drivers on the road.

A Better Driver. I am lucky to say that I have never been involved in a car accident. However, I have experienced people I have been in the car with drive irresponsibly. I have seen most drivers with their cellphone in their hands, driving too fast, and other poor driving habits. This is bad as it not only puts them at risk, but also puts the people in the car with them at risk too. Some steps others and I can take to become better drivers include: not getting distracted, following the rules of the road, keeping our vehicles maintained, building good driving habits, and taking driving seriously. In sum, driver safety is imperative and necessary to prevent car accidents/deaths and promote safe driving habits.