Safe Roads For Everyone

What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number deaths as a result of driving? What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving? Have you ever had an experience of being in car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly? What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

It could be the infinitesimal second when you glance down at your phone, anticipating an email about your college application status. It could be the extemporaneous decision to make a U-turn, even though the sign says not to, just because adjusting your route would take an extra three minutes that you cannot spare. We hear the same platitude: “It was less than a second.” Yet, that less than a second can strip someone of the innumerable seconds of their life making their internal clock suddenly stop to tick. Prior to obtaining a driver’s license, we are taught the proper practices of safe driving: signal before changing a lane, look in the rearview and side mirrors before backing out of a driveway, turn on the headlights when the sun sets, stop at a red light before making a right turn, always watch for pedestrians. As we become more comfortable with driving, these actions become intuitive, second nature embedded deep within our procedural memory to the point where the actions are automatic. Slowly, the small precautionary measures we take when driving are ignored: we no longer look to the left and right or wait a beat before accelerating at a green light; we no longer check for pedestrians when making a left turn on green; we no longer look out the side mirror before stepping out of a parked vehicle. It’s this negligence that leads to the deaths, often which are avoidable, of many people, young and elderly alike. From rear-ends to hit-and-runs, car accidents are ultimately the result of humans’ disregard to abide by and apply safe driving practices when navigating their motor vehicle on the road. We forget that driving is a privilege, not a right. This forgetfulness is costly, and the damage is sometimes irreparable.

It is because of this that the importance of driver education and concept application are crucial to establishing a consensus about the seriousness of driving. We often look at car accidents as an extreme consequence of negligent driving, when in reality, a car accident can happen to anyone at any time if they forget to apply safe driving practices on the road. We never know who is in the other vehicle. You never know whose daughter, son, mother, friend, or partner is in that car. There is exigency in this message: please educate yourself on how to behave on the road. A small bout of road rage is not worth your life. It is better to arrive to your destination late and safe than not at all. It would be remiss not to acknowledge the appalling statistics that show how more frequent car accidents are than U.S. combat deaths. This should be a red flag to all of us. No one should ignore the danger and serious consequences that negligent driving poses.

Getting a driver’s license is a proud moment that should not be taken for granted. It is our responsibility to practice patience on the road. Being a defensive driver ensures that we are cognizant of all possible situations that could occur on the road: a sudden brake from the car in front of us, a pedestrian running across the street before the light turns red, or the biker in your blindside. Remembering to check our surroundings: looking left and right, keeping noise levels low in the car to limit distractions, adjusting mirrors to provide a comprehensive view of other vehicles around you, and knowing how to use the appropriate signals in your car when a unplanned situation arises are all important skills that will help us understand the mental and physical alertness that driving requires. Perhaps keeping the DMV handbook in our glove compartment is not a sign of being a novice, but is instead a sign of being a good driver who refers back to the manual to remind themselves of fundamental driving principles. Let’s remove the idea that driving recklessly shows maturity. Driving safely, respecting others on the road, and reminding ourselves of safe practices should be every driver’s main focus.