Weathering the Storm (Both Snow and Cell-Phones)

Driver education is crucial because close to 1.5 billion cars are being driven in the world, and with that huge number, accidents are inevitable. The total number of car-related deaths just in the United States alone exceeds 3.8 million, which is more than the American fatalities in the Revolutionary, Civil, World (I and II), Afghanistan, and Vietnam Wars combined. That is a scary amount, and with the right knowledge, it can be reduced significantly.

One way to inform people is to warn them about phones, whose usage has indisputably risen over the years. I know people who were driving and looking at their phones, and when the car in front stopped to turn left, they rear-ended the stationary vehicle. The road doesn’t need to be clogged or clear—the phones need to be clear, and that would be enough, but not all. More and more people think they can multitask when they text and make sudden accelerations. I see videos of automobile crashes, and the moment they collide, a phone flies out of their hands into the window. I like how in Pokemon Go (a game that uses location), if you play in vehicle, it detects your speed and gives you a warning about not playing while driving. Just today, I was watching people go past me while I was in the car, and I saw some looking down at their laps. To mitigate this, we could take part in campaigns such as NHTSA’s “Put the Phone Away or Pay,” or everyone can be encouraged to speak up when their partner starts looking at their phone while driving. The main argument is that phone management needs to be taught more securely and safely and needs more awareness. Maybe behind every license, there should be a fun fact about the number of deaths caused by cell phone misuse.

Another way driver education could minimize casualties is by addressing drunk driving. No matter what city or town you live in, this problem won’t go away. Everyone knows that DUI is “bad,” but they still commit the crime. People understand better when they “experience” it. A plausible idea could be to create an extremely realistic simulation where a user steps into a car and tries to drive while they are “drunk.” The simulation undergoes changes and shows the user what an impaired driver sees and how long they take to react. For example, the participant drives in an artificial car, and the car windows change their screen (emphasizing impairment) while the player has to navigate other cars. I know this sounds like a fun game to play to get a high score or something, but it can seriously make people think twice when they decide to grab a beer before going on a road trip. This same “realistic” scenario can be done with virtual reality (VR), where it can be experienced anytime, anywhere, and at a lower cost. The same can be done with driving under extreme weather conditions.

I live in Buffalo, New York. A quick lesson about the conditions here is that this place gets A LOT of snow (some of the most in the country) because of lake effect from the Great Lakes: Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. That is why I am focusing on the frost. In 2022, there was a record-breaking blizzard that affected the entirety of Western New York. About 47 deaths occurred, and four of them were found in their cars. This entire essay, I was focusing on the aspect of driving, but here, I want to focus on the element of when to drive and what to bring with you. Driver education can incorporate lessons about what to store in your vehicle in preparation for the worst weather conditions and how to operate in those conditions, too. In my case, there should be packets or cards distributed to everyone, listing emergency items like blankets, jackets, flashlights with extra batteries, jumper cables, bottled water (no time to boil snow in a crisis), flare guns, etc. I hope the reader of this never lives through a whiteout where you are stranded on the road, and the last thing you want to worry about is the ice creeping up on your skin as you run to the road for help—waving your frigid, numb hands in despair as you attempt to move through snow up to your knees, regretting when you rejected your friend’s offer to put blankets in your car. I know this is an extreme case for anyone, but that’s what emergency stockpiles in your automobile are for. Returning to the simulation concept, the user could pick a setting where they drive through a snowstorm and understand that this is another “level” not to be underestimated.

Speaking of winter, driving in it is different. There needs to be extra caution. To utilize digital media, social media could be used to our advantage when it comes to updating people about any atmospheric circumstances. Daily reminders, seminars, or workshops can reinforce the level of seriousness required. This can reduce mistakes people make when driving, like making sure the distance between cars is far, braking early, exercising extra caution on speed limits, and more.

From the dangers of phone use in the wrong situations to the wind howling snow across your windshield—smothering your view—driver education can never be “too much” or finished. These problems aren’t simply solvable overnight, and we need to deploy different strategies to combat them. Whether it’s virtual reality driving to simulate drunk conditions or handing people cards listing necessary supplies for disasters, I hope to make as many people as possible aware of the dangers of driving and the importance of proper education.