Dangerous Driving Effects Everyone

At 20 years old I was driving west in downtown Tucson to my job as a pediatric medical assistant. In downtown Tucson most of the roads are very tight one way streets with parking lining the sides of the road making morning traffic even more hectic than normal. As a younger driver I had been more reckless getting my fair share of speeding tickets, but had finally calmed down and realized that I didn’t need to race the clock to get places. I was about to pass through a green light when the person in the right lane decided he needed to turn left, meaning he had to make his turn in front of me. As the light turned green, without indicating, the driver turned left resulting in the front of my car hitting his on the driver side. I was driving a stick shift at the time, so both of my legs had been extended so I could release the clutch and press on the brakes to shift into first gear. As my car slammed into his, my head hit my steering wheel and both my legs hyper-extended. I remember feeling as if the car came out of nowhere and I sat there stunned and unsure what to do next. A pedestrian that had been walking came up to the car window asked if I was okay and gave me her card, stating she had seen the entire thing. I remember that it was at this moment that I started to cry and panic. She was very kind and reassured me that it was not my fault and then she was gone. The other driver and I pulled off to the side, down the street that he had been trying to turn down anyway. I was truly shaken. I got out of my car and we exchanged information. I was only about 10 minutes away from work so once we exchanged information I continued to work. I really didn’t think about my injuries or that I maybe shouldn’t be working after a car accident, but it wasn’t until my manager was doing her morning rounds that I thought anything of it. She noticed that I was limping and that I was struggling to focus on my work, so I then had to explain to her what had happened. From there she sent me to the urgent care we had on site to be checked out. I had a concussion, whiplash, bilaterally sprained ankles, strained ACL and PCL in my right knee and a sprained MCL in my left knee. None of these injuries were severe enough to cause lasting deficiencies, but I was terrified to get behind the wheel once I was cleared to drive again.

After my speeding tickets when I was younger I had to attend Defensive Driving School and honestly I found it really helpful. It wasn’t that I hadn’t learned the standards of safe driving the first time, it was just that I had created bad habits and neglected to think about how my actions could hurt someone long term. Then the accident was a reminder of just how dangerous driving can be to myself and to others. The day of the accident I was driving safely, I wasn’t texting or on social media, yet another driver chose to make an unsafe choice and it resulted in me getting hurt.

Although it can be said that education is a major contributor in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving, the education given to young drivers should be continued with seasoned drivers. While driver education is very beneficial over time bad habits can form and mistakes can be made, which makes continued education a necessity. There have been many studies on the effects of driver education resulting in reduced accidents and therefore deaths, but almost all of these studies were conducted on young drivers. Education should not stop when first learning how to drive, but should be continued periodically to reinforce safe driving and deter bad habits. Some studies such as the one conducted by RACV would argue that defensive driver training or advanced driving courses do not prove more effective in lessening the amount of accidents in the age range of 25-59, but that encourages the cultivation of dangerous driving habits.

As we age we become comfortable and fall into patterns, meaning there is a higher probability for small mistakes to be made that could have detrimental results. Experienced drivers may have a better understanding of driving and driver awareness, but just because reckless behavior tends to decrease with age does not mean that we are exempt from making mistakes. The perfect example of that is what I experienced in my car accident. The other driver could have been trying to navigate the crazy downtown traffic and made a mistake to miss his turn, it’s possible that in his distress of missing his turn he thought his only option was to try to make the turn no matter the costs. There is no way for me to know why he chose to turn in front of me, but I believe that if he received education to reignite his understanding of driving safely and the cost of being an unsafe driver.

Over the years many steps have been taken to reduce the number of driving related deaths. Technology has been a huge help in creating a hands free environment where drivers can still be connected if needed, but also has the benefit of reducing distractions. Alternatively, it can be said that increased technology in our phones opens up a whole new world of distractions. It truly is a catch 22! The technology in cars themselves not related to our phones is also very remarkable. Teslas can drive themselves, we have digital maps at our fingertips and many cars now come with sensors on each side of the vehicle to detect objects in all directions. These few aids can really work to reduce the amount of accidents by communicating to the driver and having the driver and machine work cohesively for a safer driving experience. These different types of technology may or may not have been used by the driver I was in an accident with, but if it had been used there is a chance that the driver would have made safer choices as his car told him he was in danger of making a poor choice.

Personally I make sure to have my phone connected to my car’s bluetooth so that I can be hands-free when I am in the car. When in other people’s cars I offer to text for them or offer an extra pair of eyes in sticky situations. Occasionally it can be seen as “back seat driving”, but the alternative of harming someone is far scarier than being an annoyance to a friend. I think the easiest way to engage in defensive driving is to eliminate as many distractions as possible, that way the drivers full attention can be on the road and other drivers. I use the mapping system in my car so that I can focus on where I am going, but also not have to be distracted by looking at printed out instructions or my phone’s GPS system. When I have my daughter in the car I ensure she has everything she needs before we start driving as well as start whatever playlist of music she wants so we don’t have to adjust it once we are driving. I have also started telling my 8 year old daughter what is safe and unsafe to do while driving so that hopefully in the future she can remember these talks we have and be a safer driver.

I am a strong believer in proper education for drivers, but I think it would be beneficial to have continued education, especially after accidents or tickets are issued. It is not always an option when tickets are issued, but I think if it was the only way to move forward drivers would take it more seriously. I hope for safer roads for when my children come of driving age and I know I will do my best to educate them on safe, defensive driving so they can continue to encourage safe driving for all.

References

RACV. (2002, April). The effectiveness of driver training as a road safety measure. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/health/effectdriver.pdf