Not Just Another Number

Driver Education Initiative 2021: In the Driver’s Seat

Joshua Coffman

We are inundated with statistics every day. Whether it be the current COVID-19 case count, the stats of yesterday’s Chicago Bears game, or our nation’s projected GDP, there is always a new number clamoring for our attention and a new issue to be addressed – or not. For too long, the number 34,000 has gone unnoticed amid the avalanche of arithmetic. That is the average amount of driving-related deaths per year in the United States alone. A heartbreaking number within itself, it becomes even more so when you dig a little deeper. According to the CDC, 1.35 million people worldwide are killed on the road every year, with over half of those attributed to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. The leading cause of death in people ages 5-29 is traffic injuries. Accidents cost countries an average of 3% of their GDP, which would equate to 64 billion dollars in the U.S! The staggering truth is, we need to become better drivers – and this is one instance where it’s okay to get there as fast as possible.

If we are to accomplish the goal of road-wide safety, it is imperative that the U.S. finally recognize the danger of minimally trained civilians operating their own personal multi-ton weapons of death. These numbers – 34,000, 1.35 million, 64 billion – pose a greater, more insidious threat to our lives than most people have ever realized. The first way that driver education can reduce traffic deaths is by impressing upon young drivers the utter danger of the road. When a doctor knows that life literally hangs in the balance, he tends to take the surgery more seriously. When drivers are reminded that life literally hangs in the balance, they will take ­getting to their jobs more seriously.

Driver education programs can play a part by installing more stringent vetting procedures for those who want to get licenses. It shouldn’t be easy to pass a driving test, and nobody should be allowed to waive the written or physical portions of the exam unless their program provides an approved alternative, for which we need higher standards. Finally, it is imperative that state DOTs better regulate the programs themselves to instill a clear, well-understood standard for teaching the important skill of driving safely. When I am personally reminded of the statistics on road-related deaths every year, it gives me a greater will to drive the speed limit without distractions.

My firsthand experience with accidents has been thankfully limited to one traumatic experience. I was twelve at the time, licking a chocolate ice cream cone in the very back seat of my grandmother’s minivan. She had stopped behind a parked car on a hilly, steep street to wait while a car passed from the opposite direction. Suddenly, Grandmother exclaimed, “They’re gonna hit me, they’re gonna hit me!” and with a big “boomp,” we lurched down the hill. I ended up with ice cream all over my face, but thankfully no one was injured. The distraught high school girl responsible for rear-ending us had been looking down, presumably texting. It was a valuable, albeit comical, lesson for me: paying attention can be the difference between life and death, and so can the speed at which accidents occur. If she had been going forty miles an hour instead of twenty, I might not be writing this right now.

My accident story is amusing now, but memories of irresponsible driving where I just missed being roadkill are more haunting. There was one instance where my sister, fresh from getting her learner’s permit, had to slam on the brakes as a sedan pulled out fifty yards in front of us while we were going 65 on the highway. Another time, Granddad swerved into oncoming traffic during rush hour in Austin, Texas and Dad grabbed the wheel just in time. Worst of all, I once made too tight of a turn and just barely brushed the car next to me, earning an apoplectic tirade from the owner over a smudge of dirt on the bumper (she was so angry, you would have thought the car had been totaled). These experiences have taught me that every single facet of driving needs the utmost attention. It is the only way to ensure safety, not to mention avoid embarrassment, on the road.

To become a better driver, I first need to fully acknowledge the ever-present threat of maneuvering a vehicle at high speeds. It should be my top priority to avoid becoming a statistic, or making someone else one. But there are also practical steps I can take: leaving my phone in an unreachable place or on Do Not Disturb when on the road, always following the two-second rule, and generally being more aware of the cars, pedestrians, and road signs around me instead of getting distracted by the radio. These seem like small steps, but they make an immeasurable difference. If more people took them, so many lives could be saved that would otherwise end in tragic obscurity. My hope for the next generation of drivers is that they won’t have to experience numbers like 34,000.