Driving Education

The number of deaths from driving has increased heavily throughout the years. According to the National Safety Council, “Between 1913 and 2022, the number of motor-vehicle deaths in the United States increased 996%, from 4,200 deaths in 1913 to 46,027 in 2022.”. The cause of these deaths are from either being distracted, being a careless driver, speeding, drunk driving, and not wearing seatbelts.

Drivers can be distracted by either picking up their cell phone, messing with the radio, eating or drinking, or any entertainment can be a distraction and can lead to serious accidents that result in the increasing numbers of deaths from driving. The only way we can stop distracted drivers is to not multitask while driving. Send a text message or phone call before or after driving, never while you’re driving. No matter if it’s “important” or not, wait until you are at your destination to read whatever is important. Let others know that you won’t be on your phone while driving and return the favor by not texting or calling other drivers.

Careless drivers, who don’t obey state traffic laws, are a prime involvement in the number of deaths. They don’t want to follow the speed limit because it’s either “too slow” or not the speed they like or they just ignore traffic signs in general. They drive really close to other drivers or they don’t allow pedestrians to cross the road. We can make these careless drivers start to care by having them sit down with victims who were in some form of car crash, drunk driving, or vehicular manslaughter. This method would hopefully have them do the speed limit and obey traffic signs and be less involved in bad accidents and overall lower the risk of death for the driver and possible victim. They need to do the speed limit and obey traffic signs or they’ll be involved in a bad accident which is a risk of death for them or the other driver in the accident.

Drinking and driving is another result of the numbers of deaths. People often drink to reduce anxiety. The alcohol in their now intoxicated body makes them feel impaired and invincible. They would soon get inside their car believing they’d never get caught due to their intoxication. They would most likely wake up the next day either in a destroyed vehicle, the hospital, a jailhouse, and if lucky, their home. People also drive drunk due to their friends. Peer pressure has affected many people. People invite others and once at the party get so into it they begin to force others to drink more and more and once the party’s over, force them to drive. A way we can prevent drinking and driving is before you get intoxicated to know that you will be under the influence and that you have a ride. If you are at a friend’s house and not at a bar, you can ask to just stay the night or use public transportation like a bus or taxi.

I have seen multiple drivers driving irresponsibly, including my family members and seeing other drivers on the road driving irresponsibly. A story I heard about my grandma and my great grandpa, who were seventeen and thirty-seven at the time, their death was caused by a drunk driver. My great grandpa and my grandma were coming back home from the store and while they were coming back, a drunk driver was going too fast and was swerving a lot which resulted in killing them but the drunk driver was alive and injured. My mom was only a few months old and was with her aunt. Years later, I was told what had happened to my grandmother and my great grandpa and why they’re not here today. It was heartbreaking to hear and the fact I was told that they were very sweet and caring people made my heart break even more. The many irresponsible drivers I see are either distracted or ignoring traffic laws. We need to stop these irresponsible drivers because they will end up killing themselves or someone’s family. Nobody wants to get a phone call saying that their partner, child, or parent was in an accident because a driver was distracted, under the influence, or being careless. Simply picking up that phone or not paying attention can lead to a serious accident in seconds. Myself, as a driver, I would say I’m a little irresponsible because I’m still at a learners permit and still practicing. But, I always try to be responsible while driving, I don’t drink and drive, I don’t ever reach for my phone, and I always follow traffic signs.

Drivers need to stop driving irresponsibly and they need to focus on the road no matter if it’s boring or if it’s okay to go and get on your phone because it is never okay to be knowing that something can happen within a blink of an eye. Driving irresponsibly results in these increasing numbers of deaths and once we stop being distracted, careless, and not drinking and driving we can reduce these numbers significantly.