In the Driver’s Seat: Your Safety Matter

Jaelyn Aldridge

07/31/2021

Driver Education Initiative Award

In the Driver’s Seat: Your Safety Matter

In the year of 2020 the fatality rate was 1.37 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They also stated that while Americans drove less in 2020 due to the pandemic, early estimates showed that 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes which happens to be the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007. This data provided, showed an increase of about 7.2 percent as compared to the 36,096 fatalities reported in 2019. With large numbers as those stated for the past two years it raises questions such as “ How can we make a change in our driving to keep the fatality rate down?” or even “ What are factors that are causing people to get into accidents?” so many questions will arise with every accident that we see, hear, or are impacted by.

I have been driving for years now and I would say that I am a driver who not only cares about myself, but others on the road as well. Unfortunately not every driver is thinking about themselves and others who might be impacted by their actions, which at times are reckless. I have had my fair share of experiences with car accidents dating back to 2005 when I, a 4 year old at the time, was impacted by a head on collision. As I became older in age and became more aware of what car accidents were and how people were being affected by them, I knew that I wanted to be as safe as possible once I started driving. At the age of 14 I, like others, took drivers education classes so that I could be prepared to hit the road when the time came. During my drivers education class we watched informative videos touching on the topic of being a safe driver, car accidents, and much more. Though the classes were informative it was not until I knew someone who had passed away due to a car accident that I realized how important being a safe driver was. I feel that driver education classes can be improved by having people who have been impacted by fatal car accidents speak to drivers and share their stories to make more of a lasting impact on new drivers. Making this implementation is one step I see being effective to lower the fatality rates.

Furthermore I feel that other implementations should be put into effect to keep all drivers safe and keep the fatality rates down. The implementations that I feel will keep rates down are the following. The first step that I feel would keep the rates down would be companies moving more to hands free options that are accessible and understandable for all drivers young and old. I feel that this is an important implementation because the use of phones have been a major distraction for the majority of the car accidents I have been aware of. The next step I feel should be implemented is a feature that will keep the car from reaching certain speeds due to speed also being a factor in accidents. Lastly I would suggest that every 5 years drivers are required to take the drivers education classes again to refresh their memory on the rules of the road. Here recently I have known someone who has now become a victim of drunk drivers and unfortunately they passed away due to the reckless acts of another person.

The effects that car accidents have had on my life and those around me makes me want to be a better driver each and everyday. I feel that I can better myself as a driver by continuing to use the hands free option that comes with my car, not speeding while on the road, and checking all of my surroundings the whole time I am driving. I will help better my friends and family when it comes to driving by telling them the importance of not being on their phones while driving, not speeding, and also being aware of all their surroundings when driving. I decide that these steps are important because I have experienced car accidents where not being aware of surroundings or even being on the phone were factors that caused the accident. I also have known people that were in life threatening accidents due to speed being a factor. Though there are other changes that could be made I feel that the ones I have shared will help keep the fatality rates down. As a driver I will continue to share and keep in mind the stories of those I know who have lost their life and those who have sustained life changing injuries due to car accidents. Thank you for the opportunity and space to share my thoughts and views on how to make the road safer one step at a time.