A Hero Behind the Wheel

A Hero Behind the Wheel

By Adam Rustad

The road is dangerous. It is a battlefield, and it is a place where 34,000 people die yearly. Yet, it does not have to remain that way. It is our responsibility to change it—to make it a haven, to make it safe and to achieve zero. Zero deaths.

Firstly, the precursor to solving any problem begins with knowledge. Educating drivers is essential to safe driving, letting young adults dodge a steep learning curve. By learning both behind the wheel and at a desk, students grow confident on the road. Additionally, they avoid common mistakes, developing good habits that will stick with them, encouraging safe practices.

Conversely—to remain pragmatic—it is important to recognize flaws within our current system. Many students lie about their driving hours, or people pay others to do their assigned drivers school, both of which flagrantly render the desired learning pointless. However, it is not optimal to try to catch these cheaters—taxes can be better spent—but the road can be made safer with alternate methods. Simply removing humans from the equation (as they will always find a way to subvert irritating safety practices) places the remaining responsibility onto manufacturers. Already, with greater engineering design, cars themselves are making driving safer. Not surprisingly, between simple logistics (how the car crunches in a crash) and complex algorithms (detection of conditions, auto correcting steering and warning beeps) greatly lower risk. To protect even more lives, further steps can be taken such as mobile apps to limit distractions, as well as funding self-driving cars, which will eliminate ninety-four percent of crashes caused by human error (Department of Transportation).

Furthermore, being subject to other’s irresponsible driving is an unfair risk. As I sat in the backseat of a hot Yukon, the driver offended safety practices. Besides the danger it placed us in, we were also unknowingly endangering those around us. Luckily, we avoided any accident, but the driver’s carelessness resulted with an orchestra of horns. Unfortunately, experiences like mine are common. People, unwittingly, grow comfortable at the wheel, and ignore (due to laxness) safety. Switching to automated systems, as described above, will eliminate the chance of events like this recurring.

Finally, even if everyone else refuses improvement, we can still make the road safer for us. Alone, if we must, we can take steps to foster safe driving, potentially saving lifes. By following guidelines, laws, and rules, in addition to remaining attentive, we reduce the probability of human error. Whether it is only just setting aside your phone for a few minutes, or whether it is creating an advertisement to be shown in theatres, every improvement builds on itself and every improvement can save people. So why not improve?

Heroes are those among us who help others. Be a hero behind the wheel.