Empathy on the Road

Ashley Mejia

Empathy on the Road

Of all the advice our parents have given us, many can agree that one of the popular ones was “Treat others how you want to be treated.” This is a very wise saying to apply to our daily lives. It allows us to stop and think about the decisions we make, no matter how trivial. Allows us to think deeply about who we could be hurting, and decide if our actions are worth the possible outcomes. As we grow older, our decisions come with even greater consequences – many of which cannot be undone. Many of these weight-bearing decisions are made by hundreds of Americans every day, simply from behind the wheel.

Within seconds, a driver can make a seemingly harmless decision that results in the injury of themselves and others. Approximately 34,000 people die from car accidents yearly in the United States alone. Despite the classes and months of practice that citizens are required to undergo, accidents still happen in shocking amounts. Driver’s Education provides potential drivers with everything they need to stay safe – every function, every road sign, every precaution. With all of the required information supplied, why are we still seeing so many casualties on the road? It clearly isn’t what we’re being taught, but how. With that being said, Driver’s Education should emphasize more on connecting to our human emotions.

We are an empathic species, who can understand just how a person is feeling and how it would make ourselves feel. It’s easy to tell someone what to do and what not to do, but the information is more valuable when we are explained how it can hurt others. Driver’s Education should not simply give a list of the do’s and don’t to memorize for a test. Instead, it should teach students exactly what can happen if they do and if they don’t; what could happen to someone’s son or daughter, father or mother, and countless others in their lives if they are not more careful. We need to go back to the saying “Treat others how you want to be treated.” I wouldn’t want someone to be driving distracted while my children are walking to school, so I won’t do that to another person. We should be taught to apply this way of thinking on the road, and this small change in how we make decisions when driving would make a tremendous difference.

With empathy and understanding more heavily incorporated in Driver’s Education, more drivers will stop before glancing at their phones and think, “would I want another driver to take that chance with my life?’ We have the power to suppress our selfish decisions and keep everyone safe, but only if we allow ourselves to. If we grant ourselves that one second to think if sending that text is worth possibly taking away a mother’s child or a person’s friend, it could save many lives.