Bursting the Bubble

I’m
gripping the wheel so tight my knuckles are white. We’re moving at
jogger’s pace, but somehow it seems fast. It’s my first driving
lesson and I am more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life. It was
only after I stepped out of the car at the end of the lesson that my
anxiety was replaced by elation that I had taken my first step
towards learning to drive.

On
passing my test, I learnt just how freeing it is to be able to drive
yourself anywhere. I was at university in a remote part of the
country, and suddenly I was able to access these wild, beautiful
spots inaccessible by public transport. I could go day or night,
whenever I wanted an escape. I felt confident behind the wheel.

Early
one evening, I was driving back alone from campus. I was indicating
to change lanes, when there was an enormous bang. The speeding
Citroen responsible for the collision had disappeared into the
distance before I had even thought to read its numberplate. I was
shaken. I put the hazards on, got out and inspected the damage. The
car was slightly scratched and the wing mirror bent, but I was okay.
I felt lucky not to be hurt, but as I got behind the wheel again, I
felt the anxiety I’d had in my first driving lesson come flooding
back. I remembered something my driving instructor had said: the most
unpredictable thing about driving is the other drivers.

1.3
million people die in car accidents every year. Car accidents are the
leading cause of death amongst 15-29 year-olds worldwide. But these
are not cold hard numbers, each one is a devastating, irreplaceable
loss. A person who laughed and cried and loved. Someone’s mother,
their brother, their childhood friend. Effective drivers ed is
critical because accidents are preventable. To be more effective,
drivers ed needs to become more real, more relatable. We have
the rules in place, never drink and drive, never use a phone whilst
driving, but maybe we need to think more deeply about the
consequences of neglecting these rules. By hearing personal accounts
of people whose lives have been affected by a drunk or distracted
driver, we might pay more attention to driving rules and why they are
paramount.

Being
inside a car can feel like being inside a protective bubble, separate
and disconnected from the world outside. Sometimes we are guilty of
our attention wandering, especially if it’s a route we’ve done
many times before. But the same journey could be so different the
next time. There’s never a warning before a child runs out in the
road or the driver in front slams on their brakes.

Think
for a second before you get in the car. Are you safe to drive? Does
everyone have seat belts on? Is everything the way it should be?
Focus, because lives depend on it.

Statistics
sourced from https://safer-america.com/car-accident-statistics/