Let’s All Be Reminded to Drive Safely

Driver’s Education is an important learning tool where a student can not only practice their driving skills, but observe the driving skills and reactions of others to driving situations on the road. A great drivers’ education instructor will also place the student in “real life” situations so the student may implement those skills. An example of such occurred during my driver’s education course where my instructor gave me a sad life story regarding the death of her favorite pet. As I was driving, she encouraged me to look at a picture on her dog on her cell phone. I told her I would look at her picture once I parked the car. She congratulated me on my response and gave the statistics of car accidents and fatalities caused by distracted drivers utilizing their cell phones.

Driver Education does not stop at the pre-license level but is a subject of continuous learning. The signs on State Highways that provide important statistics of fatalities are a sobering reminder of not to text while driving, not to drive distracted, wear a seat belt, do not drive drunk, and more recently, how to avoid or avert road rage incidents. Drivers need the reminders of those statistics to emphasize the effect of bad driving habits.

Driver education is also important to inform other drivers on how to share the road. Drivers tend to forget to be mindful of the cyclists and often do not provide sufficient space for both the driver and the cyclists. Areas of heavy cyclists usage could install flashing caution signs to remind drivers to be attentive to the presence of cyclists.

Driver education will also benefit drivers and motorcyclist of sharing of road space. Drivers often do not see motorcyclists on the road and need to be observant of all road conditions and other users of the road. In addition, motorcyclists also require constant education regarding their usage of the road as they relate to driving and veering in between lanes. Motorcyclist are often seen utilizing the road in a reckless manner by driving between cars in their lanes and veering between cars. Programs specific to motorcyclists should be implemented to deter the bad practices of some motorcyclist which places consequences of bad driving habits into perspective.

To assist in reducing fatalities due to driving, each State can implement additional programs to reduce deaths related to driving. States could begin implementing a short video and quiz addressing driver education initiatives to reduce injury and fatalities upon license renewal. Insurance companies could offer more incentives to take a yearly defensive driving class emphasizing continuous driver education results in driver financial gains such as reductions in insurance premiums or deductibles. The creation of a cell phone application that would detect the utilization of texting functions while driving and automatically locking the texting function would greatly decrease the number of distracted drivers that could cause fatalities. State Legislature can pass law providing financial penalties if a police officer or traffic camera captures a driver texting or making a non-hands-free call while driving. As young children are receptive to new ideas presented, Educational Districts can include programs regarding driver safety so that children may be continuously presented with the message of driver safety.

I do not ride as a passenger with friends as its likely not best practice to ride with drivers with limited driving experience, but I am fortunate to have my own vehicle. As my parents spent hours teaching me responsible driving and paid for my drivers’ education course, I often received a lecture to never talk on my cell phone, even if it was hands-free, as it causes distraction. I was also lectured that if I needed to send a text, I needed to park in a safe spot to send my text. I cannot attest to experiencing unsafe driving with family or friends as my experience is non-existent by design.

Outside of cell phone technology, drivers’ education can emphasize that drivers should not rely on the technology that is prevalent in newer model cars. The option to drive while not touching the steering wheel, such as the feature demonstrated by Chevy, does much to enable a driver to become distracted and cause an accident or fatality. It’s also a message I share often and intend to follow as advancements in driving technology occurs as I mature. To improve my own driving habits, I intend to take defensive driving class every few years as well as continuously being aware of my surroundings while driving.