Driving with compassion

It is no secret that life in the United States is very much centered around the self, and each individual’s own personal journey. For this reason, I believe driving brings out the worst in us. As a driver, I was taught that the road is a shared space and that safe driving requires consideration of others around me as I drive. As a new driver, these two messages conflicted. To me it seemed impossible to always put my best interest first and the interest of those around me. Suppose two people attempt to drive safely for everyone around them by acting in their own self interests, what happens when their interests conflict with one another?

As a driver, it is not enough to drive with only your own safety in mind. True safe driving requires compassion. Driver’s education should teach young drivers to be competent, and compassionate. As a door dasher and student I spend a lot of time commuting around Orange County, and have lost track of the number of times that I have been cutoff, tailgated, sped past in a schoolzone and seen driver’s recklessly run through red lights.Though it will not end all accidents, I believe a little more compassion on the road could reduce many of the traffic deaths seen in the United States. According to a study done by the United States Census Bureau around 33% of deaths on the road are caused by irresponsible driving. Included under that category of irresponsible driving are behaviors like speeding, cutting others off, driving in blindspots or directly next to other vehicles, and tailgating. Many of these behaviors are a result of choices made by driver’s to sacrifice safety for faster arrival times or being first to a stoplight. Though inconsiderate, these behaviors can reduce commute time at the expense of others safety and the flow of traffic. In essence, replicating these behaviors on the road benefits the individual but at the expense of others on the road. These behaviors serve as an example of conflicting self interests. I propose that driving with the safety of other drivers around us in mind rather than our own desire to arrive at our destination as fast as possible, many driving fatalities could be avoided.

To make the roads safer for all, I believe every driver can express a little more compassion for the person in the lane next to them. Small acts like letting drivers in who need to change lanes, giving proper spacing, and slowing down to help traffic flow at peak traffic times are all steps we can take to make the road safer. These small acts of compassion for our fellow drivers may not get us to our destination faster, but they ensure that everyone on the road gets to where they need to be as safely as possible. A mindset like this requires individual compassion and shift in how we as drivers view the road. Many of us including myself at times see the road as little more than a way to reach our destinations. In reality the roads are crucial to everyone’s life. Whether it be for work or simply for personal reasons, we all need access to safe roads to keep our way of life functional.

With this in mind, I think shifting how we all view the road could also reduce traffic deaths. By seeing the cars next to us as real people who have somewhere to be just like us, I believe drivers would be much more reluctant to drive irresponsibly. This would be so because by accepting that the cars around us are people as well, we are holding ourselves accountable for the consequences of reckless driving, and personifying the drivers around us. It is easy to tailgate and cut off other cars if that is all they are in one’s mind, when they are looked at with the same empathy many of us treat others with, driving carelessly becomes morally conflicting.

After having looked more into the causes of driving deaths and considering what I believe to be the causes, I am going to make some changes to my driving. I personally will make it a habit to drive with more compassion as I make my deliveries and commute. I am going to watch out for the safety of those around me when I change lanes or enter traffic. By letting the cars around me change lanes when they need to safely I can ensure my safety and that they can get where they need to go in a timely manner. Only by making small changes on the individual scale can we make a significant impact on the safety of our roads for everyone, so check those blindspots and drive with some compassion because it could save a life.