“Dialogue creates change” – The Importance of Driver Education

“Dialogue creates change” – The Importance of Driver Education

“Common sense is not so common”, I feel this quote from philosopher Voltaire (1764) rings true when comparing it to the action of driving. Driving has been ingrained into society’s recent history, making it almost impossible to survive without the ability to get behind the wheel. This has given us the illusion that because most people seem to know how to drive from the age of 16, mistakes never happen, and if for some reason they do, there are no real consequences, but the ramifications are nearly always fatal. Based on statistics, deaths and injuries while driving are inevitable. Since the turn of the century the specific methods put in place within the driving education communities across the U.K. have affected the number of injuries positively, giving the U.K. one of the safest places to drive on the planet – however, with more than five people still being killed on these roads each day, driving is still a threat to society. Along with supplying more and more ways to access professional driving courses, there have been specific strategies to improve the safety of driving in recent history. None more prevalent than THINK!. THINK! have been creating driving safety campaigns since the 1920s, just a decade after it’s creation the number of deaths yearly had already fallen by 50% and the numbers continue to fall, going from nearly 10,000 deaths a year to under 2,000. Their main focus has been providing methods on preventing drinking and driving regularities as well as attempting to reduce the amount of people using cell phones while behind the wheel. THINK! is known as one of the forefathers of driving safety campaigning which has also helped confront Britain’s reckless alcohol culture.

As the years go by, technology continues to advance, with this consistent boost in software, vehicles are becoming their own entities, they’re becoming more and more efficient in driving themselves. However, we can’t let this affect the mindset of practicing drivers, this could lead to the lack of funding towards driving educational programs becoming even more prominent. Like I previously mentioned, the importance of providing more and more access to driving education courses is crucial. A lot more younger people are struggling to find the resources to pay for a bulk of professional driving lessons on top of buying a vehicle and the stipulations that brings, statistics show that a quarter of 16 year olds in the U.K. had driving licenses in 2016, which is a huge decline from the mid 80s by over half. That’s why I’m thankful that there are more companies that provide free theory tests as a way to give these people the access to the correct tools in preparation for their career as a driver. These tests go into depth, ensuring that the average person is legally entitled to drive on any road. While at the moment there seem to be optional tests through their app, I’m hopeful in the upcoming future that it’ll be a mandatory exercise for every driver.

Possibly a less avoidable danger is the emotional and sensitive responsiveness of drivers. At the end of the day, most drivers are human and circumstances that occur before and during the act of driving can affect your mood, causing a lack of concentration and focus which could then lead to destructive outcomes. In 2019, The Department for Transport data showed that drivers’ lack of caution at the wheel contributed to 185 accidents in Swindon throughout that year. This is an example of why the implementation of electric cars comes with it’s positives and negatives, the overriding positive is that it’s programmed to drive and just drive, it won’t be triggered by anything else like the average human might.

Unfortunately, my family and I have been in a car accident before. It occurred when my brother and I were only 8 and 3 years old. We were the victims of a drunk driver, while our car stopped at a red light, the other car rammed us from behind and our heads flew forward and hit the seat in front of us, thankfully we all had our seat belts on and we avoided serious injuries. While the physical implications weren’t long term, the mental ones have been, my mum hasn’t driven in over 15 years because of that situation, while I’ve repressed that memory almost entirely, she still lives with it everyday.

I always say that building dialogue creates change, while some people like myself will always speak out on the importance of regular training and continue to share stats with drivers that aren’t the most observant — other people may need enlightening, and that’s why it’s important to work together and involve any and everyone within driver education.

I appreciate this opportunity provided by the kind people at DMVedu, and I will continue to spread the word of everyone associated with DMVedu. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Charlie