Man in the Mirror

• What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number deaths as a result of driving?

Driver education is directly linked to the number of deaths caused by irresponsible driving. There is power in knowing and many people just don’t know the severity and gravity of driving. We have become numb to driving several thousand-pound, metal boxes, driving up to as 90 MPH on the freeway. Many car manufacturers have tried to include safety protections of airbags, seatbelts, weak points in the frame to absorb the blow, and many other things. However, this is not enough. They cannot be the only ones willing to change to help reduce those 30,000 plus deaths (on average) in the United States alone.

Knowing basic driving laws would be a good start but people knowing things like the “100 deadliest days” or other times when crashes are most likely would cause civilian drivers, like they have for me, to drive more defensively and cautiously during those times.

• What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving?

There are many things that I think can and should be implemented to make the roads safer. Due to the recent incident in my personal life, I think they should be stricter about DUI’s. There are many people that drive intoxicated, putting everyone in risk, because they feel that they might get off with a warning, ticket, or “nothing serious”. How might this change if all citizens were told one single DUI’s and you lose your license?

The second way I think they can improve is relevant also. I recently had to renew my license. The process was very quick and easy but if they would have asked me the same questions as when I took my initial drivers test, I might not have been able to answer them correctly. Now I took my drivers test just over 5 years ago, but what would it be like for someone that is 50? They might be able to pass but they most likely have forgotten more than I did and have. I think they could add a simple and easy test that covers whatever the state thinks is the most important for that particular state.

• Have you ever had an experience of being in car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?

This is a topic I wouldn’t have been interested in just a couple of weeks ago but recently, a friend lost his life due to someone else driving irresponsibly. My older brother dated a girl for many years, but they ultimately broke up. He remained close with the family, and they maintained a good relationship. One week ago, her (my brother’s ex-girlfriend) little brother was driving home from a concert in San Diego with some coworkers when they got a flat time. Josh, the little brother, got out of the car to look at the scene when a drunk driver smashed into their small sedan, killing Josh and another one of his workers and injuring others. Drunk driving, of course, is idiotic and dangerous but this driver had previously been charged with two DUI’s. He should not have been driving. He was a danger to himself and others. Sadly, the families of those who have past are going to have to live without their son, brother, or whatever other titles that might have carried.

Pondering on how many families have felt the pains and emotions of losing a loved one to a drunk or any form of irresponsible driving is sickening. What might be even harder is being the one that causes that hurt and pain or be their family. Knowing that your actions have forever caused separation and grieving.

• What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

Gandhi famously stated, “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him… We need not wait to see what others do.” I can start by being the change I hope to see. With setting an example of safe and responsible driving myself and making sure to chaperon my friends when they are not in a safe state to drive.