Education, Enforcement, and Protection

Education, Enforcement, Protection

Drivers Education is just like any other class, it is a class taught by those that understand the mechanics of teaching, how to teach a subject to someone else, this is not something that all people do well. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about 62% of drivers take a drivers education course. This means that about 40% of drivers are being taught by their parents, compared to only 3.4% of school aged children being homeschooled. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln deduces that students that did not complete drivers training were 75% more likely to receive a traffic ticket and 24% more likely to be in an accident where injury or death occurred. Imagine how many injuries and deaths could be avoided if 97% of drivers took a qualified education course instead of a caregiver that might not be a good driver. Does the motor vehicle department even do a check on the driving record of the caregiver that will be the primary teacher for a new driver?

While having more new drivers take a qualified education course is one method of increasing safety on the road that only deals with new drivers, there are ways that will increase safety for everyone. According to the NHTSA, using a seat belt properly is the best way to protect oneself in an accident. The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that wearing a seat belt reduces fatalities in approximately 50 percent of crashes, especially front impact crashes. In many states, not wearing a seat belt can be ticketed as a primary offense but in others, not being properly restrained can only be ticketed if the motorist is being pulled over for a different reason. In places where lack of restraint use is a primary offense, seat belt usage goes up.

Distracted driving is a huge problem, especially through using cell phones while driving. An NIH compilation of cell phone studies mentions that cell phone use could increase the chances of crashes by four times. Unfortunately, none of the studies can find with accuracy the rate that cell phone use truly contributes to crashes as drivers that are involved in such crashes are not truthful when it comes to whether or not they were using a cell phone at the time of the crash. Detecting cell phone use is not like giving a roadside inebriation test where there is probable cause if the driver is acting in a certain way or if the officer smells and or sees drugs and alcohol. In order to obtain cell phone records, it would take a warrant that would likely only be obtained if the crash resulted in severe injury or death.

One cannot determine a percent increase in crash rate due to cell phone use, it makes sense that any items that distract a driver would contribute to an accident. There are many states that have laws regarding teenagers specifically using a hand-held device. These laws help ensure teens focus on driving only.

Speeding, red-light running, and impaired driving all contribute to not only an increase in accidents, but also increase the severity of accidents. These issues are problems in many countries, but other places have different penalties for violating these rules. If one drives drunk in Bulgaria twice, the offender will receive the death penalty. Other countries use public punishment where names and offenses are printed for all to see. Still other countries punish offenders through large fines and suspension of licenses for years. While there are states that have strict punishments, West Virginia’s laws seem to be the most lax where an offender will only have their license suspended 15-45 days. While punishments are a deterrent, enforcement is key.

Enforcing speed limits and stopping at red lights are slightly easier with the advent of photo red light cameras and automated speed cameras. Both of these systems take pictures of the license plates of the violator along with the driver, and tickets are mailed to the violator. According to a study referenced by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), photo speed enforcement reduces the number of speeders by 14 to 65 percent, but the reduction in the severity of crashes is what is the most telling, fatal accidents were reduced up to 49% and severe injury crashes up to 44%. When I had the chance to visit Germany, one method of ensuring drivers remained within the speed limits was a radar camera that either ignited a smiley face or a frown. It might seem simple, but it was a nice way to reinforce good driving habits.

Do red light photo enforcement cameras reduce accidents? There are several studies that have concluded that while these cameras do reduce fatal accidents at signalized intersections by 21% (IIHS) and injury causing accidents by 68% (IIHS). However, according to a 2008 study conducted by the University of South Florida, rear-end collisions increased in intersections with photo enforcement. This increase was so significant that when the city of Houston removed photo enforcement while at traffic lights, while front angular accidents increased, the overall accidents at traffic signals decreased by 18%. One must ask, what is more important, reducing accidents overall or reducing significant injury and death accidents?

While many methods to reduce vehicle accident deaths are about ensuring the driver follows the rules of the road, another method is making vehicles safer overall. First cars had seat belts which increased one’s ability to survive a crash by 50%. Air bags are believed to save an additional 30% of lives (NHTSA). New technology such as lane departure warnings or lane keeper assistance can save lives. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the involvement rates in accidents for vehicles that had lane departure warnings were much lower and fatal accidents were 86% lower than vehicles that did not have a lane departure device.

Forward collision avoidance with automatic braking is another safety measure that can help drivers avoid accidents. According to insurance claims on cars with forward collision avoidance versus not having that feature, there was a 10-14% reduction in the rate of claims (NHTSA). Back up cameras with reverse braking and avoidance systems can help reduce accidents and potentially pedestrian fatalities with better vision and alerts when there are objects around.

All of these features can only help avoid accidents that are under the driver’s control. Unfortunately, it is other drivers that can not be avoided. While I have not been in an accident, there were three accidents that occurred with those in my school. Two of the three were fatal. One was a student around my age, he was hit by a drunk driver while driving home from work. The drunk driver ran a red light and drove him off the road. I can only wonder if any of the safety features could have helped this student.

As a young driver, I will make sure that I follow the rules of the road. Stay off of my cell phone and not be distracted by the other occupants of my car. I make sure that everyone in my car wears a seat belt. I keep the radio volume reasonable so that I can hear vehicles around me, especially if there was an emergency. My parents have provided me with a car that has front and side-curtain airbags with a very high safety rating. I’ve also taken driver’s education and my parents exceeded the one hundred hours of observed driving two fold to make sure I was a confident and predictable driver. I can only hope these keep me safe.