Keeping The Roads Safe- The Importance of Road Education

My earliest memory is a blurry one, but still affects me to this day. I was just about 4 years old in the backseat of my mom’s car on the way to drop my sister off to her tutoring session. I was playing on my Nintendo DS, not paying much attention. Then time stopped- I don’t remember much of what happened in that moment except freezing. I wasn’t tall enough to look out the window to see all the destruction that had happened, but I do remember it was the first time I saw my mother cry. We waited for what could have been hours in my mind, still confused as to what happened. A fireman came to calm her down, and then talked to me about the game I was playing. His kindness made me obsessed with firefighters for a few years. I wanted to help other people who were as scared as my mom.

My sister never made it to her tutoring session- I knew that because I asked as we walked to my uncle’s car, still confused about what happened. That was when I registered what happened; the windows of my mom’s red SUV all shattered, and the front end of the car was crushed by a large truck that was driving into the lane next to us at the intersection.

My mom wasn’t at fault, but still she had to deal with most of the damages, emotional and physical. If we had been in a smaller car, we might not have made it. We were lucky to not have any injuries, but we can’t say that for so many other American drivers. Around 34,000 people in the United States pass as a result of motor vehicle accidents, so many not being at fault themselves. According to the NHTSA, drivers under the influence of alcohol are responsible for a ⅓ of these casualties, and in 2022 280 children were killed due to these irresponsible drivers.

That statistic scares me as someone who was a victim of a car accident as a small child, and I can only think of the families and lives impacted by this epidemic. Improved vehicle safety education and stricter road laws are necessary to keep drivers safe, especially when driving is a necessity in our everyday lives.

Even mistakes that are not as “severe” as driving under the influence can be dangerous. The National Safety Council approximated 1.1 million car accidents as a result of texting and driving. Accidents can also be a result of other distractions, such as having passengers in the car talking to you or telling you to take your eyes off the road to watch a TikTok they saw. As small as it is, even taking your eyes off the road for 5 seconds can result in an accident. When driving is an everyday activity, many drivers become too comfortable and overlook the risk because they’ve survived on the road hundreds of times- but just one mistake is enough to ruin your future.

When driving, you need to have a risk assessment of not just yourself but the other drivers on the road. You can be as safe as possible, but you can’t control other drivers. One rule that is stressed in Drivers Education courses but rarely followed is the 4-second rule, in which you should be 4-second behind the car in front of you in case there is an unexpected break. When I was taking this course, I was very surprised by the existence of this rule because never in my life had I seen any driver on the road do that consistently. In fact, they are usually trying to inch even more forward. We overlook what seems to be tiny steps, but can save ours and fellow drivers’ lives.

One way we can all be safer drivers is by being patient and calm on the road. In 2022, over 12,000 people were killed due to drivers speeding. People speed for multiple reasons, whether they’re in a time crunch to get to their destination or like taking risks. But speeding affects not only you but everyone else on the road, including families. Speeding makes losing control of the wheel easier and causes much harder breaks. The all-too-common phenomenon of road rage can also result in making ill decisions you wouldn’t otherwise on the road, like switching lanes without checking or being too emotional to look out for obstructions. We all know how it feels to be stuck in traffic and the emotions that are a result, but keeping yourself safe by being patient and calm is worth being late for a meeting.

In conclusion, driving is a necessity in our lives, but much risk comes with it that is overlooked. That’s what makes improved driver education, emotional regulation, and strict road laws crucial for keeping the roads safe and hopefully reducing the lives lost due to negligent driving.