A New Approach for the DMV

I have never been in a car accident, but I have ridden in the cars of numerous irresponsible drivers. I’ve experienced people speeding, not properly gripping the wheel, and driving erratically. One time, a friend of my parents drove me to a soccer game. I noticed that when she was driving she often went many miles above the speed limit and would sometimes hold the steering wheel with her knee so she could eat on the way – not a very safe way to drive. Though she stayed between the lines and didn’t hurt anyone or get in a crash, I think that was not a good example for her son or for me. One should never take life for granted.

I am a relatively new driver but that does not mean I will not do the best I can to be a safer driver and save the lives of people I know and of people I don’t know. Some of the steps I can take include watching tutorial videos on accidents and what to do to prevent them, talking to older or more experienced drivers like my parents or grandparents, keeping my phone put away away my phone during driving, not adjusting music, and generally treating driving as a mode of transportation and not a place to mess around or have fun. To help others become safer on the road, I will try to be others-focused and to be a polite and communicative driver so as not to incite road rage. Another step I can take to help others would be to talk to my friends and younger family members to make sure that they are safe drivers. Whenever my brother drives (he has his permit), I try to give tips from my experience of being in his shoes, because being a new driver can sometimes be quite stressful. The main thing that I do is drive safely and attentively so that I might be a good example to him. In order to do this, I also leave plenty of margin for before and after the drive so that I will not feel any pressure to speed.

I strongly support the requirement that new drivers practice driving for 65 hours. This time period allows ample time for new drivers to get the basics of driving into their rote memories.

Our rote memory contains things that we do every day out of habit. Working memory is the memory that contains things a person is actively thinking about. Rote memory can include pressing individual keys in typing, knowing your name, and unlocking your phone. Rote memory can also include turning on and steering the car you are driving. When a driver has enough experience, they do not actively think about things like steering or pressing the pedals: Having basic skills in rote memory allows the driver to focus on things like directions, where next to turn, or what they will be doing next. Having basic driving skills in rote memory makes a person a safer driver in emergency situations because the person has more room to think and will therefore be a better and safer driver.

There are many steps to be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. For one, instead of testing drivers on parallel parking skills, there should be more emphasis put on on-the-road driving situations, especially in common places where people get injured or killed. Currently, there is less incentive to practice preventing injuries and too much incentive to practice preventing destruction of property. Critical driving situations should be more emphasized.

Finally, if more people wore their seat belts, there would be less death on the road. A study by the NHTSA stated about 90% of people nationwide in 2017 wore their seat belts. Although almost 15,000 lives were saved because people were wearing their seatbelts, there were an 2,549 lives that could have been saved had people been wearing their seat belts. Some people either feel that seat belts are uncomfortable, are a hassle, or just don’t want to wear them out of rebellion. There are many things that vehicle makers can still do to make seat belts more comfortable and less hassle, but if people took their lives more seriously they would wear their seat belts and save their own lives and probably influence others to save lives. To summarize, my main suggestions are for there to be more real-world training and for more people to wear their seat belts.