Driving Around the Rationale of Focus and Evaluation

Kaylen Teves

DmvEdu.org

Driver Education Initiative

11 January 2021

Driving Around the Rationale of Focus and Evaluation

Along the rows of chairs at the corner of the crowding DMV office in the late July of 2018, I sat with my mother and father waiting for the window clerk to call me up to take the written test. Despite how much time I learned from my online driving class—with the addition of studying the entire handbook—I could not help but still feel anxious about what could happen during the test. “Maybe I should review one more time,” I thought to myself as I pulled up my phone to start on a new practice test. Meanwhile, a girl who was sitting next to me was also studying for the written test, and she seemed just as nervous as I was. Soon, the window clerk called me up to take the test. I gave the handbook and my phone to my parents before I went to the other area of the office. At first, I expected the test to be on paper like a typical class exam, but instead, it was on a computer. I took a lot of my time reading the questions and choosing the answers that were the most logical from the rest. At times, I chose the wrong answers which made me even more stressed out, and other times, I was annoyed by the fact that there was a time limit to the questions. I looked away from the screen to give my eyes a small break, and I noticed that the girl who sat next to me in the waiting area was also taking her test. In that moment, I saw her looking around before she took out her phone. Conveniently, a security guard quickly noticed it happening and asked her what she was doing. Their conversation was a little inaudible, but I heard her say, “My friend was just texting me.” Immediately, the security guard escorted her away from the computer, and her test was canceled. I ended up passing the test and received my permit, and even though I was eager to finally be able to drive, I could not help but wonder if most people take the concept of driving seriously.

As easy as it is to some people, working up to get a permit or a driver’s license may be difficult to others. With easier access to driver’s education like online classes, potential drivers have the opportunity to take as much time as they need to complete their courses. Though, in terms of safety, this begs to question whether drivers, both minor and experienced, truly understand the risks and guidelines that driver’s education offers or that drivers are only focused on getting the education out of the way just to let them drive however they want. By all means, such a mindset would cause serious physical damage or even death among the drivers or others involved with the incident. In order to reduce the amount of car-related deaths and accidents, as well as increasing the safety among everyone on the road, driver’s education and traffic safety should be considered in a practical standpoint that applies to any driver regardless of the level of experience.

Reviewing for both the DMV written test and the behind-the-wheel test are usually associated with new drivers or seniors who need to renew their license. However, this does not mean that teenagers and adults who have an adequate amount of experience are excused from evaluating their own driving skills. Around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when mandatory stay-at-home orders were in effect, Jana Tidwell, a spokesperson of the American Automobile Association (AAA), believes that “many people may be out of practice… most of us haven’t driven on a daily basis for over two months” (qtd. in The Associated Press). In general, regularly taking part in activities could help improve one’s skills, but if the frequency begins to diminish, the individual’s skills on particular activities would not be consistent. In the case of something uncontrollable like the COVID-19 pandemic, drivers still have alternative ways to keep themselves on track with their knowledge on driving and the laws on the road. Plenty of driver’s education websites include practice tests that are meant to help people practice for the actual DMV tests. Experienced drivers might feel that they do not need to take them since they already passed their written tests, but they should consider putting themselves in a mindset where these practice tests are self-assessments instead. Taking these practice tests help drivers review how much they know about driving and the laws, and they also reveal the knowledge drivers might lack in order to improve. Though, while practice tests do not entirely explain what every driver needs to know about driving, keeping a copy of the DMV Handbook (depending on which state a driver lives in) can help expand on certain areas and clear up any confusion regarding what is right or wrong. For example, the California DMV Handbook includes a section about driving safely in snowy and icy conditions. While the majority of California does not apply to such conditions, they are useful to keep in mind when traveling to places whose climates are exceptionally different. Nonetheless, keeping drivers informed, whether they are newbies or experienced, on even the least applicable information to them can help sort out minor or major issues with other drivers.

With the growing concern of securing property in automobiles and keeping people safe while traveling on roads, dashboard cameras, commonly referred to as dashcams, are practically becoming essential accessories for drivers. These devices are typically used as evidence in situations such as insurance frauds and catching drivers violating traffic laws. In a 2012 study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC), “… between $5.6 and $7.7 billion was fraudulently added to paid claims for auto insurance bodily injury payments in 2012… due to ‘staged accidents’,” (Threewitt). The way that dashcams function is that they silently record raw footage of events taking place; because nothing is edited to be taken out of context, this makes dashcams a highly reliable source to clear any false accusations and help drivers save money. Considering the potential that dashcams have, they can also be used to further improve driving skills, especially for drivers who do not have a lot of experience on the road. Multiple dashcam compilations on YouTube display clips of drivers in the act of facing the consequences of their potentially dangerous actions, and while some people may find them infuriating or humorous, these videos should mainly be perceived as examples of what not to do while driving. In addition, having a personal dashcam gives the opportunity for new drivers to review their progress and take the next steps on what they should improve on whether it involves behavior, reaction time, or proper traffic etiquette.

Of course, while it is practical for drivers to consider proper traffic etiquette, there may be times where certain events become too stressful or too tedious to think rationally. Whenever such difficulty occurs, even if it is a small incident, drivers should be encouraged to practice mindfulness—the state of being present in the current time with a non-judgemental perspective. Teen and young adult drivers often report engaging in activities like texting while driving, and because the practice of mindfulness is disregarded,“individuals lower in mindfulness reported more frequent texting-while-driving and this relationship appeared to be mediated primarily by emotion-regulation motives” (qtd. in Feldman, et al. 856). The issue with activities like texting and driving is how drivers seem to overestimate the optimism bias, the belief that nothing bad would happen during dangerous situations, or that drivers might feel the need to escape from the pressure that might be building up inside them. While these distractions can help relieve their impulses in the short-term, the risks of getting into a car accident and causing stress to other drivers on the road are much higher. By focusing more on what is ahead on the road, “increased mindfulness may be useful for reducing driver stress and anxiety in complex or frustrating driving conditions (e.g., Baer 2007; Kabat-Zinn 2003) which may aid in drivers’ quick recovery from directed attention fatigue (Kaplan 1995) arising from the demands of a highly distracting environment” (qtd. in Kass, et al. 240). At first, mindfulness may be a difficult concept to grasp, even when it is applied to driving on the road. However, if it is used as a long-term exercise, not only would it help deal with the stress that may be troubling drivers right now, but it also allows drivers to avoid fatal outcomes that are preventable in the first place.

Appraising driver’s education in another perspective can increase safety and help reduce the number of vehicle-related deaths and accidents. Practice tests and the DMV Handbook are more than just ways to help new drivers study for the official DMV tests—they should also be recognized as tools to help all drivers in situations that are not familiar to them. Installing dashcams or watching dashcam footage online gives examples on what would happen if drivers defy traffic safety and even be used as another form of self-assessment to further improve driving skills. Being more aware and present to the events taking place in the time of driving is a safer alternative to reducing stress as well as keeping drivers away from dangerous, emotional motives. Driver’s education does not stop immediately after receiving a driver’s license; all drivers will have to exercise the skills and knowledge they learned about regardless of the circumstances on the road, otherwise, all the information that is taught would simply be a waste of time and money.

Works Cited

Greg Feldman, Greeson, et al. “Mindfulness Predicts Less Texting While Driving Among Young Adults: Examining Attention- and Emotion-Regulation Motives as Potential Mediators.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 51, no. 7, 1 Nov. 2011, p. 856, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.07.020.

Steven J. Kass, VanWormer, et al. “Effects of Mindfulness Training on Simulated Driving: Preliminary Results.” Mindfulness, vol. 2, no. 4, 26 July 2011, p. 240, doi: 10.1007/s12671-011-0066-1.

The Associated Press. “No, It’s Not Just You: The Coronavirus Pandemic May Be Eroding Driving Skills, AAA Says.” PennLive/The Patriot-News, 22 May 2020, www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2020/05/no-its-not-just-you-the-coronavirus-pandemic-may-be-eroding-driving-skills-aaa-says.html.

Threewitt, Cherise. “A Dashcam Might Be Helpful if You Get Into a Car Accident.” HowStuffWorks, 2 June 2020, auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/dashcams.htm.