Safe Driving Starts at Home

Family and peer accountability may be one of the most influential safe driving tactics which our community can take in order to positively impact safety on the roads. I can remember learning the rules of the road as a child. My parents always seemed to use scenarios encountered while driving with me in the car at an early age in order to raise my awareness and knowledge regarding safe driving. Now that I have been a licensed driver for almost four years, I now find myself doing the same with my younger sister. The expectations for safe driving, in my opinion, start at home and those building blocks are further supported and built upon within the driver’s education classes offered through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The standards offered within the required education and training should reiterate every day experiences a student driver encounters.

I can vividly recall a Sunday drive home from a weekend of family camping that seemed very predictable as we camp often during the summer months. This particular drive home was no different – my mom was driving the minivan and I was in the back passenger seat next to my sister when I suddenly felt the abrupt stop and impact from something I saw fly by the window next to me. My mom calmly pulled over to make sure myself and my friend were ok, then put on her hazard lights, told me to call 911 and to stay in the van with our seatbelts on. I immediately heard sirens and then my mom came to my window and told me that I didn’t need to call 911 but I still needed to stay in the van. I then saw my mom rush behind the van and tend to the injured motorcyclist laying in the road behind the van. After she delivered first aid to the victim and the ambulance finally arrived, she returned to the van. The motorcyclist was racing away from the police when he approached a curve too fast and crashed into our van. While this was an unavoidable crash, my mom was paying attention to her surroundings and oncoming traffic and noticed that the motorcycle was approaching the curve too fast. She responded by pulling over as far as she could onto the shoulder to avoid a head on collision. She could not pull over any further due to a significant embankment just off of the shoulder. This situation could’ve been deadly but my mom was able to focus on her surroundings and limited the potential danger for not only our family but also the motorcyclist responsible for the accident. This situation definitely supports the importance of constant awareness while at the wheel. Additionally, I was inspired by the instant attention my mom gave to the injured motorcyclist. My mom immediately tended to the motorcyclist at fault, despite causing a near fatal accident and totaling her van. While this was an inevitable scary experience, I was amazed at the control and selflessness my mom exhibited.

Driver’s education classes offer key driving rules and standards necessary for driving safety. Online resources improve access and can improve interest among the younger generation of drivers. Social media can build a positive platform for driving videos and driver simulation. Utilizing real events and statistics in required driving education curriculum can help impact future drivers. If a student actually sees the result of distracted driving there may be an increased appreciation and respect for the responsibilities associated with driving a vehicle. Simulation, real scenarios and statistics should be incorporated into driving programs in order to help create a safer driving community and decrease driving related deaths. Additionally, raising awareness for permit drivers may be a beneficial safety feature for driving programs. For instance, permit drivers are just learning how to operate a vehicle as well as interpret his/her surroundings and may drive a little slower and be somewhat intimidated by more complicated traffic patterns. In order to reduce frustration from other drivers, it may be beneficial to incorporate a tool such as magnetic signage on a vehicle when there is a permit driver at the wheel.

My dad has always utilized our time on the road to reiterate driving rules and safety. When I began driving classes, I felt that I already knew the majority of the material from just listening to my dad and witnessing safe driving tactics. I now find myself instructing my sister as she has a driving permit and will soon become a licensed driver. I have never used my cell phone while driving, neither does my parents. My sister witnesses our family driving safely and avoiding one of the most common causes of fatal accidents – using a cell phone while driving. Not only should a responsible driver teach safe driving but he/she should also demonstrate such every time they sit behind the wheel.