Reducing Driving Related Deaths Through Education and Infrastructure

Thankfully, I have never been in a car accident, and my family usually drives responsibly. But my grandpa has begun to accelerate quickly and to sometimes drive a little distractedly. Some of my friends speed and do other foolish things when they drive. I am grateful that they haven’t caused an accident, but I realize that in addition to accident statistics, activities like this are evidence that better education and precautionary measures are needed to reduce the number of driving related deaths.

One of the best ways to solve problems is education. People make better decisions if they understand and consider the implications of their behavior. For example, most people wear seat belts now because they have been educated about their benefits. All drivers need to understand safe driving principles if the roads are to be safe. One of the most imperative steps towards reducing the number of driving-related deaths is high-quality drivers ed.

Where I live, the drivers ed program (drivers’ ed) is lacking. Here, drivers’ ed consists of three elements: about 30 hours of classroom study, six hours of driving with an instructor, and six hours of observing classmates drive. To get a license, younger drivers must also drive for 50 hours with a licensed driver. I think that there needs to be more driving time with an instructor. It is illegal for students to drive before or during drivers’ ed. As a result, I entered drivers’ ed without any driving skills. Six hours was hardly enough time to learn how to move the car, much less to teach me defensive driving habits. There are several potential solutions: creating closed courses to practice driving, requiring more instructed driving hours, or amending the law such that under strict conditions students could practice with their parents before or during drivers’ ed.

Besides education, I believe we could prevent deaths by keeping up with growing demands on infrastructure and reducing areas where it is legal to pass. Recently, we drove around a corner on a two-lane road and saw someone trying to pass a camper– coming towards us in our lane! We had to serve out of our lane to avoid a head-on accident. Since the shoulder was small, half of our car was off the road! I am not sure if passing was legal there, but I have seen several other near accidents where passing was legal. Also, people pass vehicles that are going the speed limit all the time! This kind of passing is completely foolhardy and rarely saves time! Also, the situation would have been much safer if the road had a third lane or the shoulder was larger.

To help make the roads safer, I will continue practicing driving with my parents, never use my phone while I drive, never speed, and avoid other reckless actions. I will encourage my friends and family to do the same. I will always remember that foolish decisions may cause harm to others as well as to myself.