We Don’t Drive Alone

Driver Education Initiative 2021: In the Driver’s Seat Essay

As I was a recent victim of a car accident earlier this year, I weigh major importance on the improvement and sharing of driver education to reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving. I was rear-ended on a freeway bridge and was nearly tossed off the shoulder. The impact thrust my car into a 180-degree turn and I came face-to-face with on-coming traffic. Fortunately, I was alone in the car and got out of the accident with minor injuries, but it will forever be a scar for me mentally since I am still going through therapy to recover from physical damages. If I had passengers in the car at the time, I would feel a tremendous amount of guilt for having another person go through the pain and suffering I did. Undoubtedly, the incident created a lot of stress for my family and me. However, these accidents could be avoided with careful driving practices. I hope to learn from this experience and urge more drivers to be wary of their driving environment.

“Do not rush and always drive with a few cars distance [between yourself and the other car],” my dad told me when I first started driving. It’s a tip I’ll always have on my mind when on the road. A few research has shown that most car accidents were a result of limited reaction time due to tailgating and speeding. Tight traffic will force drivers to brake hard to make up for the lack of distance, as a result, the following cars will have to do the same or decelerate significantly as well. This has happened so much that the term “phantom traffic jam” came to light. It creates a vicious cycle of impatience and driving in a close traffic. In a worst-case scenario, tailgating can result in immediate accidents, especially when driving on freeways or express highways. Thus, maintaining a minimum of three to four car distances between each driver will decrease the number of accidents. Thanks to my dad’s tip, it didn’t matter if I was a new driver or a seasoned one because I created a space I was comfortable with knowing my own reaction time.

Since my accident, I’ve become warier about my own driving practices and those around me. I’ve watched videos about what to avoid and why certain practices are dangerous despite their appearance otherwise. For example, I frequently see cars merging in front of large trucks or cargo vehicles because they tend to drive slower, maintaining a large distance behind the car in front. It may appear safe to merge because the space can usually hold one or two cars, and I thought the same before my exposure to the knowledge that large vehicle drivers purposefully create the distance because they need the space to react to traffic effectively. Additionally, trucks have more blind spots than the average car. Since learning this information, I’d avoid merging in front of large vehicles in case I put myself or the other driver in danger of a potential accident.

Another tip I keep in mind on the road is to check all mirrors frequently. My brother-in-law shared this tip with me, and I started implementing the practice right away because you can never be too precautious on the road. It’s a practice that served my brother-in-law and dad all their life, especially since they have large families to protect. He taught me to build the habit of checking the rearview and side-view mirrors regularly, even when I do not have to merge into another lane, which can prepare me for anything on the road. I can anticipate when a driver nearby wants to merge into my lane beforehand or see a speeding car coming up before I am forced to react. Even in situations that seem unavoidable, having the habit of frequently checking my mirrors could help lessen the impact of the damage.

The road is shared with millions, as drivers, we have the responsibility to maintain order and protect ourselves and others’ lives. Despite the pace of everyone’s daily lives and personal agendas, we have to remain calm and be abundant with patience on the road, because otherwise we put others and ourselves in dangers’ way. Planning out trips with more time to spare could help as well because I’m sure at the end of the day, no one wants to bear the responsibility of taking someone’s or a family’s life. We have to keep that in mind. We don’t drive alone; we drive along a large population with lives we cannot afford to lose.