Drive with knowledge to survive

The importance of driver education in reducing the number of accidents and deaths that occur from driving is that educating drivers will allow them to make less dumb and preventable accidents. Drivers ed can teach drivers basic information that are fundamental to staying safe on the road like proper driving techniques, road conditions, safety precautions when near an accident on the road, etc. These are a few of the many ways driver education can help reduce the number of deaths from driving as this information can prevent more accidents from happening. An example of this importance can be seen in this hypothetical scenario involving Bob. Bob was driving to work and before he started his commute it rained a fair amount. He didn’t think much of the rain and began his commute. Along the way he encountered a traffic light which turned red and in front of him was a car. Bob brakes but he doesn’t do it properly and ends up sliding and hitting the car in front of him causing an accident denting the car he hit and ruining his own car in the process as well. The cause was because he braked too suddenly for the wet road which caused his vehicle to slide and hit the other car and the reason he braked suddenly was that he wasn’t taught well that braking doesn’t work the same on a dry road vs a wet one. Driver education here would be the knowledge that braking when road conditions are wet or snowy means braking would take more distance and gradual pressing on the brakes as opposed to sudden braking which would’ve led to a vehicle sliding like in Bob’s case. This driver knowledge can apply to tons of driving scenarios to help drivers make the safe decision that doesn’t get them injured. This is one of many ways to reduce the number of deaths from driving. Another way to reduce the number of deaths from driving is by limiting potential factors that can lead to death.

Some steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is by having vehicles that are designed to disperse the impact of a crash away from the driver to keep them safe, configuring the roads to make them more safe during unideal driving conditions and spreading more awareness and making people less apathetic to the issue. Cars and vehicle design in the modern era has gotten to the point where pretty safe and crashes are fatal then they used to be compared to older car designs yet they still can be improved upon. The vehicles could be fitted with a sensor system designed around the seatbelt which would not allow the driver to start his/her vehicle until they put their seatbelt on. This change will force users to put on their seatbelt which is one of the most protective systems that is in a vehicle that has a seatbelt. As for the configurations of the road they should be designed so that turns aren’t too sharp so drivers won’t go flying off the side of the road and crashing. The roads could be regularly serviced and repaired that way it would be safer for drivers to drive on the road. These are smaller ways to reduce the deaths caused by driving as the main way to reduce deaths is by making sure drivers are driving safely and this can be achieved through promoting and raising awareness of the amount of deaths that occur per year from driving and advocating safe practices while driving like always wearing a seatbelt, not texting or using a phone during driving, or not listening to music too loud to the point where it becomes a distraction.

I had one experience being in a car accident and it was the time I accidentally hit a trash can on my way from school to home. I was driving and there was a turn and I miscalculated the distance between me and a trash can on the side of the road and I nailed the trash can with my passenger side mirror going about 35 mph. I was filled with panic as I just had my first car accident. Looking back on it I was inexperienced in dealing with accidents and now I learnt what to do when I have a car accident. Some steps that I would take to become a better driver by silencing things that may distract me while I’m driving that way I don’t have to deal with my phone while on the road, always telling myself that I’m driving and the I need to be careful, and finally stay awake when and focused when I drive even if it can be difficult.