A Road to a Better America

In the ever-growing transportation network of the United States, there appears to be an equally as clear increase in tragic accidents as a result. Chances are that most people reading this have either experienced or have met someone who has experienced injury or loss related to vehicle accidents. As reported from injuryfacts.nsc.org, we can see about 46,000 motor vehicle deaths for 2022 which should not be much different from 2024. An important consideration to note, the modern world, using the U.S. for example, encompasses much less experienced drivers, creating a more dangerous environment for others on the road as you could expect. Better technology, education, and communication will be the keys to solving this very real, and prominent issue.

Beginning on the topic of education, of course, less experienced drivers have less experience behind the wheel, which means less experience knowing how to handle scary situations that may arise involving one’s vehicle or unsafe drivers and conditions they may meet. Personally, in Florida I understand that our system in obtaining your learner’s and driver’s license is too simple and requires little barriers to become legally allowed to commute. I passed my online course in a few weeks and a simple exam to get my learner’s license. If that did not sound out of the ordinary, consider my driving test to obtain my license, being an even more simple in person test where I drove around a parking lot and performed 5-6 basic actions and answered a few questions. Better, and even a little more rigorous coursework or in person training are so necessary. At the age of 16 any teen is so eager and ready to join everyone else on the road, which is why I think we should teach coursework and similar things earlier, leaving the practical aspects to challenge students on real potential problems or challenges they can encounter. Trying to cut corners or making this process that used to be about gradually improving the skill of operating a car, more about how fast we can legally get on the road, is a recipe for disaster.

On the topic of technology, we can all recognize the innovations being revolutionized around us each day in 2024. Even in the automotive industry, we have self driving, electric, and more advanced automobiles being developed that will either improve or worsen safety for drivers. Obviously, wishing for safety, as things continue to be tested and worked on, I can see a future where these innovations heavily influence the safety for us. What can we do? It can be hard to embrace change, but its also hard to deny the importance of our safety, which is why I think we should all strive to support good technologies that promote our safety and health as drivers. Here it from General Motors, on why they’re committed to advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles: “We have developed our advanced driver assistance features with a focus on safe deployment. Ultimately, we aim to eliminate human driver error while creating more time and space for what truly matters in life and improving mobility for those who cannot currently drive due to age, disability or other factors.”

We as humans communicate each day and should recognize the importance of understanding what our loved ones have to say and mean. Communication in relationships for example, is so important because is if one of two parties misunderstands the other person, there could be serious problems in this lack of knowledge. The same thing can be understood for driving. Communicating the importance of your safety and dangers of reckless driving behavior to peers is not just about their knowledge, but their safety of course. If everyone truly understood the dangers of even being in a car, let alone controlling one, we would see much less casualties and injuries. We need to spread awareness for the dangers of driving, and promote good and safe practices behind the wheel. Some examples being: not using your phone, being distracted, driving the appropriate speed, etc.

While I personally haven’t driven enough to even be involved in accident yet, my parents have. I understand just how common, and scary this is. If we embrace more education to younger drivers, new safety technologies, and continue to spread the word of just how much of issue and danger this is, hopefully future generations of drivers will not need to worry about these things. Truly, this is a fight for not just our current selves, but the safety of everyone in the future that will hop in a driver’s seat one day.