Two Tons

The average car weighs two tons. The average speed a car drive on a highway with a 65 mph speed limit was 74 mph. But let’s be honest: the specifics don’t matter when you’re staring at the headlights of an oncoming car. At that moment you’re one of thirty-four thousand people that die on a US highway every year. There’s nothing you can do in that situation as someone about to be a victim of an accident, but there is something you can do if you’re the person behind the wheel. You have an opportunity to help lower the average number of car-related fatalities in the United States, by attending Driver’s Education, being responsible, and understanding the limits of your body.

Driver’s Ed is a golden opportunity. A study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that young drivers who didn’t complete Driver’s Ed were about 75% more likely to get a ticket, 24% more likely to be involved in a fatal accident or injury, and 16% more likely to have an accident. Meanwhile, the young teens who did take Driver’s Ed were less likely to be involved in a crash or traffic violation in the critical first two years of driving. Teens in particular from ages sixteen to eighteen are at the most risk for crashes. Driver’s Ed instills proper driving techniques in these impressionable individuals, like how to obey traffic laws, drive safely, and preempt situations that can lead to an accident. All of these are life-saving keys to becoming a safe driver. It’s important to keep in mind that while Driver’s Ed can provide you the knowledge to be a safe driver, it’s on you to make use of that knowledge and become one.

Part of being a responsible driver is avoiding distractions, obeying traffic, laws, and wearing a seatbelt. A phone may arguably be the single most important advancement in technology, but it’s also a driver’s worst enemy. The temptation is great: you may think it’s just one text, it’s just one swipe, it’s just one second away from the road, but that one second is all it takes. There is no text worth anyone’s life: avoid being on your phone while driving. Another part of being responsible is obeying traffic laws; they were instituted with the express purpose of safety. Traffic laws cannot provide safety if they are not observed and obeyed. An equally important part of being a responsible driver is wearing your seat belt. No matter the distance, a seat belt is the difference between life and death. It’s a lot: there are hundreds of laws, hundreds of distractions, and hundreds of ways things can go wrong. I personally can attest to this. Two particular instances taught me the importance of these practices. The first instance was when I was a young child. I was involved in a minor accident in a collision at an intersection. Thankfully no one was hurt, and the extent of the damage was a broken headlight. The second instance was potentially the most terrifying experience I’ve had in a car. I was still a young child, and it was the middle of the night, it was raining something fierce, and we were on a five-lane highway. The perfect recipe for disaster. I was sound asleep when my mother’s shriek cut through the rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain and woke me. My eyes opened to the sight of a car that had hydroplaned from the left-most lane, swerved across five lanes into the right-most lane, and back again. My family and I were one car length away from becoming part of the statistic of highway fatalities in America. It was equal parts luck and my father’s ability to stay calm that we were able to survive unharmed. To this day I’m not sure what happened to that car, but I always keep my eyes on the road and my seatbelt buckled. 

            While you can’t know what the weather may bring at a moment’s notice, you can know your body’s limits. Only you know when you’re tired. I can promise you this: your body will tell you when you are unable to do something, but only you can make the conscious decision to listen to it. If you’re too tired to drive, pull over to a rest area and take a well-deserved nap. If you’re planning a long drive, consider bringing along a friend or family member to take turns.  Please don’t try to force your body to do something it can’t. It’s also important to understand that there are situations in which your decision-making process may be impaired, and you cannot adequately judge your abilities. Being under the influence of alcohol is such a situation. The unfortunate reality is you may be too intoxicated to fully comprehend that you’re driving. Drunk driving accounts for nearly a fourth of all traffic-related fatalities. There are few things more irresponsible than getting behind the wheel of a car when intoxicated. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead, for instance, if you and your co-workers or friends plan on responsibly drinking it’s a good idea to designate a driver, to ensure that everyone makes it home and no one feels like they have to drive themselves.

               The sad reality is that tens of thousands of lives are lost every year. You can do your part by attending or encouraging others to attend Driver’s Ed, by being a responsible driver, and knowing the limits of your body. You cannot control life or death but being a safe driver can tip the scales in favor of life. Hopefully, if enough people take that message to heart, we won’t have to remember that the average car weighs two tons. 

Newman, Ian. Shell, Duane. “Study: Driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets” University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL News Releases. 13 Aug. 2015, https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver’s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets