The Real Lifesaver: Defensive Driving

The Real Lifesaver: Defensive Driving

“Dad, look out!”

“Oh my god!”

My dad jerks the steering wheel to the right, and I hear my mom scream as my seat belt digs into my neck. I tear my headphones out of my ears while quickly trying to assess the situation.

We narrowly miss the cars surrounding us, zig-zagging along I-405 in Los Angeles while my dad tries to recover control of our vehicle. After what feels like minutes—even though it was likely just a few seconds—our car straightens out and my dad starts to pull over. The large, white van that had drifted towards the side of our car, causing my brother to shout a warning to my dad the second before it made contact, follows suit.

Although our nerves were fried, my family emerged from our accident unscathed. Our car was fine, too, with some melted plastic and surface level scratches serving as the extent of the damage. The van’s driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, causing him to veer into our lane. With years of experience driving cars, working in construction, and piloting airplanes, my dad is a master at manipulating heavy machinery. With anyone else in the driver’s seat, we might not have been so lucky.

Most of the time, we hear the likelihood of getting into a car accident used to

show that something isn’t that dangerous. If someone is nervous about swimming, for example, they’ve heard, “You’re more likely to get into a car accident than drown, don’t be ridiculous.” In reality, car accidents are exceedingly common. The average driver will experience at least three collisions during their lifetime, according to auto insurance claims. Furthermore, the National Safety Council states that 1 out of every 84 accidental deaths are caused by an automobile accident.

Although many factors affect your likelihood of getting into an accident—the time of day, the weather, the road you’re travelling on, what car you’re driving, et cedera—there are concrete steps that you can take to reduce your overall likelihood of being involved in an accident.

Perhaps the most popular method for reducing accidents on the road is Driver’s Education programs for youth. Currently, twenty-three states require all drivers under the age of eighteen to enroll in a Driver’s Education program. Six additional states require all drivers under eighteen to complete a short course on drug and alcohol awareness before receiving their license.

Driver’s Education programs can be incredibly effective; one study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that young drivers who completed driver’s education programs within the state were 75 percent less likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 less likely to be involved in a fatal or injury-causing accident, and 16 percent less likely to get into any accidents overall compared to their peers who did not participate in a Driver’s Education program. According to research done by the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, though, most current driver training programs don’t actually reduce accident involvement or crash risk among drivers. The key distinction between these two studies is the population that the research data was drawn from.

In Nebraska, Driver’s Education focuses on something called “Defensive Driving”—a driving style that utilizes specific strategies to identify potential hazards on the road and anticipate situations, in order for drivers to make the right decision on the road to avoid a crash. Young drivers are more likely to be impulsive and make poor decisions while behind the wheel, making them more likely to get into an accident. After a course in Defensive Driving, though, a young person is more likely to remain level-headed and engaged while driving, decreasing their chances of getting into an accident dramatically. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln drew data from young drivers within the state, so their observed differences between young drivers who had taken a Driver’s Education program and young drivers who had not are likely due to the Defensive Driving curriculum within the state’s Driver’s Education courses.

The International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, though, looked at driving data overall. Defensive Driving programs are not integrated into every Driver’s Education program, so their data would not reflect the same positive effects as the other study. In order to actually reduce the number of accidents, young drivers need to shift their mindset while behind the wheel—this is what a course on Defensive Driving achieves. The International Association of Traffic and Safety Science’s research actually affirms this; they found that programs focusing on attitude change and risk taking of young drivers address the underlying causes of young drivers’ elevated crash risk. 

At the end of the day, it’s impossible for you to control the other drivers on the road. That’s why driving defensively and anticipating potential situations is the best way to reduce your chance of getting into a crash. Defensive Driving courses are offered for free online, so if you’d like to decrease your chances of getting in a car accident (and even reduce the cost of your insurance) go sign up today!