Driving is Cringe

Driving is the most dangerous activity that humans do daily. Ever since the creation of automobiles, there have always been deaths due to driving. Coupled with the increase of car production and human population, the number of deaths keeps on increasing. So how can we reduce the amount of car-related deaths using education? First off, why do people get educated? Education has been used to enlighten humans about knowledge or a skill. More education within the population means more enlightened and smarter people; therefore teaching more people how to drive safer means more safer drivers (mind blown). However, driver’s education does not necessarily mean that car-related deaths would completely cease. Accidents would still happen, and after all, we are still human.

Educating people how to drive is important, and theoretically, this solves the problems associated with drunk driving, texting while driving, reckless driving, and so on. One way to reduce deaths from driving would be learning driving education at an early age because the knowledge would be ingrained into their body. Although rule-abiding citizens would follow the laws accordingly, society always produces deviants. Deviants or those who break the traffic law would always exist, which also cause death via driving. Even regular law-abiding individuals who decide to commit a small amount of deviance can cause a death of an important life. A popular way to combat these individuals is the use of policing and regulations. These help deter people from committing any deviance related to driving, such as heavy fines for DUI and reckless driving; however, this does not save a life that has already been taken when a person decides to commit deviance even with the deterrents. Even though heavy fines and policing help reduce driving deaths, this does not address the root cause of all of these problems. The root cause would, of course, be the people themselves. We, humans, are imperfect. Therefore, although the idea is radical, the best step for reducing driving related deaths is by addressing the medium for transportation itself. Sure, decreasing the maximum speed of cars would decrease the fatality of the crashes, but that does not prevent a crash from ever happening. Why do crashes happen in the first place? That is because a human is behind the steering wheel, which the majority of the causes of an accident is due to the mistakes of the driver(s).

So how can we tackle this problem? There are many solutions, such as popularizing the use/creation of subways and removing all modern vehicles to replace it with self-driving ones. People would just have to call a car to get to their destination, people would rely on public transit (fully automated) more often, and there would be less cars on the road due to the increased use of public transportation. There would be no more deaths as the result of driving because no one is driving anymore. Reducing a problem may have to require a radical idea, like this one, but it comes with a cost due to removing the privilege of driving. Many people enjoy driving, so having no cars would not only cause revolts within the public population, but also jobs. However, it is important to give out ideas like this in order to create a system that meets halfway, which would benefit society and the environment.

I myself have never been in a car accident, but have seen a fair share of reckless drivers on the road, which is one of the reasons why I dislike driving. There was one instance though, where a drunk driver almost hit me while I was driving to work, but ended up crashing into someone else thankfully (not thankfully for the guy who got hit). However, my grandparents got into two car accidents because of reckless drivers. This gets me worried because of how easy it is to lose a life just because of an idiot behind a wheel. No one wants to lose a loved one from driving, and everyone just wants to get to their destination safely. The reason why I suggested replacing regular cars with fully automated ones is because it completely removes the problems related to drunk and reckless driving. I don’t want that happening to my grandparents anymore, and I don’t want that to happen to anyone in general, so creating a system that meets halfway with this idea may help reduce the likelihood of death as a result of driving.

The modernization of the use of self-driving cars may happen in the near future, but what is important is the present. The main goal of driving is to get to the destination safely. Everyone knows how removing distractions and increasing focus while driving would help reduce the risk of getting in a car accident, so that is the best way you and I would be safer drivers. However, the most important part is reminding yourself how most people around you are thinking the same thing: arriving at your destination without getting into an accident. Drive within the speed limit and drive without being in a rush. According to physics and math, a higher speed does not constitute a faster arrival time; therefore there is no point of speeding. All in all, everyone wants to be safe while driving, so don’t sweat it as long as you’re not being stupid.