We Can Save Lives: Recurrence Training for Drivers

I was riding home from second grade, sitting towards the front of an orange school bus. One of the sideview mirrors was taped together, from where the driver had hit a bicyclist a few months prior. It was raining that day, and the city of Buenos Aires was flooded. On the way to school that morning, water had started getting into the bus by the door, but I made it to class safely. Throughout the day, it only continued to rain, and now I was listening to RadioDisney while the driver plowed through a few feet of rain. Outside the window, I watched as people swept floodwater from their porches and saw a building’s gate come unhinged in the flood. As we pressed on through the flooded street, the bus stopped moving. Water had gotten into the engine.

Strangers helped carry us through the water, and fortunately, everyone made it out of the bus safely. However, I would not get home from school until nine that night, after one of my classmates’ parents brought me through the receding flood waters to where my worried mom awaited me.

Driving involves many critical thinking and reasoning skills; a driver’s ability to quickly make sound decisions can save lives. A combination of education and practice hones that ability, but nevertheless, reckless driving is common in today’s society. The term “reckless driver” tends to be associated with a teenage driver who only recently got their license, but it is not just new drivers who are prone to causing accidents. Though the driving crash risk is highest during drivers’ first year being licensed (United States Center for Disease Control, 2018), a study deemed that almost 40% of Americans would fail the knowledge test for a learner’s permit if they had to take it again at their current level. As people gain experience behind the wheel, they often become complacent. Experienced drivers account for most accidents, and only about 5% of drivers are under the age of 20 (Insurance Information Institute, 2020)… so why are we focusing driver education nearly entirely on the youth?

Driver education is crucial to ensuring both passenger and pedestrian safety, and it is the key to reducing the number of deaths related to driving. Safety courses for adults exist and include efforts like DUI programs and driver improvement schools. However, these programs tend to only be required after a driver causes an accident or breaks a driving-related law, making them reactive measures instead of proactive precautions. Though driving safety courses should not necessarily be mandated for all experienced drivers, constant reminders of the importance of driving safely should be provided for everyone through recurrence training. By regularly encouraging drivers to not drink while under the influence of substances, not speed, take weather-related precautions, and adhere to other basic driving regulations, reckless driving can be reduced.

However, keeping roads safe is not just in the hands of drivers; even passengers can help decrease the ever-growing number of vehicle-related deaths. Encouraging others to practice safe driving can save lives, even if the efforts are as simple as preventing an intoxicated friend from getting behind the wheel. There are also numerous resources aimed at educating others about how to be “safe passengers.” In order to prevent drivers from getting distracted while on the road, passengers should avoid blasting music, making overly-cynical comments regarding how a driver is driving, and turning on the interior lights while the car is in motion.

Large-scale reminders and efforts are also helpful in preventing accidents. Public safety announcements on highways and streets actively encourage drivers to adhere to safety regulations like wearing seatbelts, and many states host campaigns to encourage safe driving (my state’s is called Arrive Alive). These initiatives can also take place on social media platforms, as was seen with the National Road Safety Foundation’s “Safest Summer Ever” campaign.

Though I am fortunate to have safely gotten through the school bus incident, many others have not had the privilege of survival. About 33,000 car crashes in 2019 involved death, and that does not even count the near 10,000,000 crashes that go unreported each year (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2018, 2021). Each fatal crash has severe effects that ripple through communities; I witnessed that ripple after one of my classmates was killed by a car while on his bike in 2020. My community had to mourn a loss that could have been prevented by driver education. Each day, billions of people climb into cars, potentially putting both themselves and others at risk. For that reason, it is crucial that educational programs exist and be promoted.