Car Accidents: The Relation Between Drivers Ed and Driving Fatalities

Drivers ed first appeared in the U.S. in State College, Pennsylvania, in 1934 by Assistant Professor Amos Earl Neyhart of Penn State. By 1930, there were 30,000 annual deaths due to car crashes and the number was steadily climbing year after year. So in 1934 Mr. Neyhart started the first class of Drivers ed and saw that the students who took the program had experienced fewer car crashes than those who did not participate in the program. Soon after, the American Automobile Association had endorsed the practice of training new drivers.

Since then, there have been more studies done on the subject of Drivers ed. Throughout all of them, one thing seemed consistent: students who took the classes had far fewer car crashes, tickets, and injuries. One such example showed that people who did not take the classes were 75% more likely to get a ticket, 24% more likely to be in a fatal or crippling accident, and 16% more likely to be in an accident. Not only that, but according to the Georgia Drivers Ed. the conviction rate also decreases by nearly 40%!

Even though Drivers ed has been shown to drastically reduce accidents and illegalities, there are still some more steps you can take to help further reduce your’s and others’ chance of injury and fatality. One of the steps you can do is to drive during the day: the time between midnight and 3 A.M. has the most alcohol-related accidents. Another thing you can do is to fasten your seatbelt, 66% of teen driving fatalities could have been prevented by wearing a seatbelt. To add onto that, remember your seatbelt even on the short drives; you never know who else is on the road. While only 5% of car accidents are caused by machine error, listen to your car’s engine every month to hear if something sounds off.

I experienced a car crash on the way back from the ophthalmologist once whenever I was nine years old. I was not the one driving at the time (because I was nine), but my dad was. We were turning right at an intersection and an old woman had run the red light and hit us. Thankfully, everyone was okay.

Despite being okay, it had taught me a couple of things. The most important one was to always pay attention while driving, even if you know the place by heart. Another thing many people don’t really know about is to get 8 hours of sleep. Multiple studies have shown that 8 hours of sleep increases attentiveness, patience, and reaction time. Furthermore, learn to drive defensively. Don’t speed, don’t tailgate, don’t change lanes constantly, and follow the law. In brief, it’s better to keep your self safe rather than sorry.