Driving: An Immense Responsibility

Driving: An Immense Responsibility

Driver education is significant to the reduction to the number of deaths associated with driving because it teaches prospective drivers how to drive responsibly. This is done by teaching drivers how to avoid dangerous or risky behaviors when behind the wheel. I myself waited until I was nearly seventeen years old to get my drivers license because I was overwhelmed by the responsibility and power that being the conductor of a car entails. Culturally in America, driving is seen as a right of passage for sixteen year olds. In my experience, this association along with the prevalence of cars/driving in America, minimizes the risks associated with driving for many people in society, especially young drivers. Driver education enlightens prospective drivers, who are largely teenagers, to the potential risks that come with the privilege of driving by making driver education multiple parts, teaching of the dangers of driving (especially distracted driving) and how to deal with and avoid a multitude of worst case scenarios.

One of the largest components that I remember from when I was taking drivers training (in 2013-2014) was distracted driving training. It is paramount that all perspective drivers get experience with the numerous distractions that face drivers. Whether it’s the radio, one’s cell phone, or eating/drinking whilst driving, it is important that all drivers have clear plans and guidelines for how to deal with, or moreso, avoid such distractions. This education helps to establish good habitual behaviors.This inturn minimizes the chance of unsafe driving occurring. In addition to the education and parameters set for new and/or young drivers, drivers education continues on with national campaigns. Some of these campaigns that have been paramount to the reduction of car-related deaths are the requirement of seatbelts in cars and for the occupants to wear them, stricker non-sober legislation/enforcement, and responsible cell phone use whilst driving. Specifically seatbelts, according to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports, have saved “hundreds of thousands of lives” since 1981 alone as the rate of wearing seatbelts increased, “from 11% in 1981 to nearly 85% in 2010” (CDC). The CDC’s report goes on to explain that only “1 in 7 people still don’t buckle up” and his lack of seatbelt wearing increases the chances of death from a car crash by thirty-percent! In other words, “3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries” (CDC). Today, it is well known now that the chances of accidents due to distracted driving has increased due to phone usage. With this, I believe that it is safe to assume that with this increase, there is an increased risk that one might be in an accident that will result in ejection from the vehicle, if not wearing a seatbelt. It is my perspective that car accidents can never be completely prevented so long as humans are driving. We humans are prone to error. Fortunately, we do have methods for reducing the number of accidents that are all taught in driver training curriculums. In the event that an accident does occur, seatbelts have been proven to be a simple, yet hugely effective resource in death prevention. With this said, I believe that the single most important step that can be taken to reduce car-related deaths is to expand seat belt wearing guidelines and education. There should be no exemptions in laws that make it acceptable for a person to not wear a seatbelt. Additionally, there needs to be a revigurating of the seat belt wearing campaigns. These short commercials or ads should be targeted mostly to social media so to educate the masses, no matter their age. This fundamental education should not stop until one-hundred percent of the population habitually wears their seatbelts in any moving vehicle.

Part of why I view seatbelts as being the largest step that can be made is because when I was in highschool I lost multiple classmates due to not wearing a seatbelt during a car accident. Each case was eerily similar to the previous one; with two or more teenage friends traveling together. One friend would distract the other and the driver loses control of the vehicle. The drivers, in these instances I am recounting, were all wearing their seatbelts. In all cases, the friends that were in the car with them that were not wearing their seatbelts died. I watched year after year, as numerous groups of friends had to mourn the death of their beloved friends. The loss is one thing, the guilt of the survivors is another. The survivors, in their guilt would always utter the same statement, “I wish I would have made them wear their seatbelt”. I went to a small school. My graduating class was sixty-three students that I had attended school with since kindergarten. It was the largest class that that school had seen in years, with most grade classes totally forty students. We were missing two students in our grade in 2015 due to fatal car accidents. That is very noticeable in a school that small. The same loss was seen in the grade of me–class of 2014. To my knowledge, this horrific legacy continued on until 2017. All of these deaths were preventable by simply wearing a seatbelt. People are going to make mistakes, that is a given. We are all fallible. Fortunately though, humans are resourceful and smart creators that have created tools to help combat out shortcoming and this failuability. A seatbelt is one such tool. I really hope that further campaigns are made and this legacy that I was a part of does not need to continue on in my or any other community.

Ofcourse, with all of this talk of the importance of wearing seatbelts, that is the primary thing that I do to be a better and safer driver. I make sure that myself and fellow occupants of a vehicle are wearing them before we begin to drive. No exceptions are made to this rule, wearing seatbelts in a car is a strict mandate to me. Sometimes this can be annoying to the people that I am in the vehicle with but I know what is at stake if we get in a car accident. I view this mandate as an act of love and respect. Further steps that I take to be a better safer driver is not touching my smartphone while I am driving. This is the largest distraction of mine. With this, I have instituted a rule that once I have selected my music that I will listen to on my phone and listen to via the car’s bluetooth sound system I put the phone in my glove box. In the event that I need to use my phone, I always pull over or otherwise safely stop somewhere to use it. Putting the phone in my glove box acts as a reminder that I need to pull over. This is because it interrupts the habit I, along with many other people have, of using the phone whilst driving. Besides these reasons, I make sure to always mitigate risk by following what I call “common sense laws”. Such laws are not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol–I do not do drugs or drink so that’s really simple. I make sure that my friends and family know that I am always available to be a designated driver. This applies to times I am not with them too. They know that they have me as a resource to contact if they need a ride. Making sure to combat complacency and minimization of the risks associated with driving is my goal for both myself and others. It is my hope that people can join me in this effort to not be afraid of driving, but rather understand the privilege, power and responsibly that all occupants, especially drivers have to keep all safe both in and out of the car. If such considerations are not taken, the price is often life.

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Bibliography

Unknown. “Policy Impact: Seat Belts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 Jan. 2011, www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/seatbeltbrief/index.html.