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Driver Education Round 3 – Life or Death: Driver’s Choice

Name: Desirea Neekole Burke
From: Brighton, Tennessee
Votes: 0

Life or Death: Driver’s Choice

In the 1880’s, the first vehicle was produced — man’s greatest, but also most dangerous weapon. So dangerous that the number of deaths each year caused by driving is higher than that of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is unsurprising that the number of deaths due to driving were high in the 1900s because of the lack of education for those behind the wheel. After all, it was not until Amos Neyhart introduced the first high school driver’s education course in 1934 that there was an official instruction for young drivers. In the 1990s, however, funding was pulled for many schools’ driver’s education courses. So, what exactly is the importance of driver’s ed?

A hospital would not employ a surgeon without a degree or advanced knowledge of the practice, so why should we allow people to drive if they do not understand how a car works or the rules of the road? The importance of driver education in reducing the number of driving related deaths is the cliché phrase, “Knowledge is power.” A driver that has attended some form of driver’s education will have been educated in the rules of the road, the basic operation of a vehicle, and how to react in different situations whilst driving. A driver that has not experienced any instruction or education on driving will not know everything necessary to safely drive. According to a study by the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, “Young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and 16 percent more likely to have an accident.”

Drivers can avoid a fatal car accident in many ways — many of which will take less than a minute. The very first thing every driver should do before even turning their key in the ignition is to put on their seatbelt. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “Of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2019, 47 percent were not wearing seat belts.” Air bags alone will not protect a driver if they are unrestrained and ejected from a vehicle during a car accident. Another step to reduce the number of deaths resulting from driving is for a driver to refrain from getting behind the wheel if he or she is intoxicated with alcohol or drugs. Alcohol and some drugs are depressants which will cause fatigue or drowsiness. This side effect can disturb drivers’ reaction times and their visibility. The lanes on a road may blur and cause a driver to cross into oncoming traffic. According to the NHTSA, “Every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 52 minutes. In 2019, these deaths reached the lowest percentage since 1982 when NHTSA started reporting alcohol data — but still 10,142 people lost their lives.” Another prominent distraction that could be eliminated to reduce deaths caused by driving is mobile devices or electronics. Phones captivate the attention of drivers, therefore taking their attention off the road and their surroundings. The NHSTA states, “Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.” By buckling up, sobering up, and putting up all devices, drivers will eliminate three prominent causes of accidents that could end fatally.

A prime example of how sobering up could have prevented a car accident comes from a personal account. A couple of years ago, my mom, sister, and I were on the way to my cousin’s 10th birthday party in Memphis, Tennessee. I had just downloaded a new game on my phone, so I played the game for most of the car ride. We arrived at a red light like the front car, and I had my feet propped on the dashboard. I heard the screech of tires and looked up in the rear-view mirror to see a truck slam into the back of us. I remember the pressure on my neck and chest from the seat belt holding me back. My toe had slammed into the door panel, but it was the smallest of the infractions. My mom and sister sustained whip lash, and I felt dizzy and nauseous for a couple of minutes. We thought it had been the truck behind us that had caused the accident; however, he was trying to keep his own vehicle from hitting us. What had occurred was a drunk driver was speeding down the road when he did not realize the light was red, so he rear ended the vehicle in front of him. It was a five-car pileup with my family and me in the very front vehicle. Our vehicle was the least damaged because the driver behind us was able to try to prevent his vehicle from hitting us harder; he was also not tailgating us. The entire accident and the injuries sustained by all parties could have been avoided had the drunk driver waited a few hours before getting behind the wheel.

As a young driver, there are steps I can take to become a better and safer driver. One thing I can do is to silent my notifications. Anytime my phone lights up from a notification or makes the notification sound, I tend to glance over at it. I may not be on my phone checking the notification, but it is still a distraction. Another habit I can break involves my car radio. Before I pull off, or before I take my car out of “park,” I set up my music through my phone. But sometimes while I am driving, I adjust the volume through my car radio (not by turning the volume up on my phone). This is another way my eyes are not focused on the road. Not only can I better myself as a driver, but I can better those around me. I can help my mom become a safer driver by doing things on her phone for her, so she won’t be on her phone. I can be attentive as a passenger to warn my mom of the surroundings that may be in her blind spots. Although a driver may think, “Oh, it will be okay. I know how to drive, and this message will only take a second to send,” it only takes one second to miss someone’s turning signal, break lights, or a red light. It takes one second to take a life by taking attention off the road. Life or death hangs in the balance when driving, and it’s the driver’s choice.