Heartache By The Numbers

According
to the NHTSA, “in 2019, an
estimated 38,800 people lost their lives to car crashes.
Furthermore,
4.4 million people were injured seriously enough to require medical
attention.” The number of deaths and injuries per year is
staggering. Sadly, teenagers 16-18 years of age make up the majority
of the drivers who are involved in these car crashes. A vast number
of long term studies have been conducted which evaluate the effects
of drivers ed courses on the reduction of car wrecks. For
example, an 8 year study of 151,880 Nebraska teen drivers
compared 2 cohorts: those who attended a drivers ed course
versus those who did not attend a DE course. The results revealed
that the drivers ed group had significantly fewer citations,
alcohol-related violations, and/or injury or fatal crashes than the
non-drivers ed cohort for their first 2 years behind the
wheel. Noting that “teen vehicle crashes and fatality rates are
highest from ages 16–18,” these reductions are especially
compelling. 

Since
most serious wrecks and fatalities occur during the first 2 years of
driving (16-18 year olds) it would be prudent as well as proactive to
require yearly driver’s “re-education” refresher courses to
maintain a valid driver’s license while drivers are still
considered minors on probation.

Steps
which can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving
include increased PSAs and rewards for frequent attendance at
driver’s “re-education” courses including “put your phone
away while driving” incentives. Other than attorney advertisements
for legal representation, viewers rarely see PSA’s related to safe
driving tips. We are bombarded with information involving social
issues or advertisements, but rarely see PSAs for safe driving (other
than “click it or ticket” and the “drunk driving” snippets).
Drivers ed courses must step into the social media arena in
a more impactful way. The app Waze has basically “gamified”
driving; taking it to a social, interactive level. In order to
further mitigate car incidents, Drivers ed courses can be
incorporated into an app which implements a point system.  Safe
drivers can earn enough points to earn badges or prizes. Let’s face
it, people respond to incentives and rewards. Mandated yearly
driver’s “re-education” courses should be implemented for
drivers 16-18 years in order to keep a driver’s license valid.

Unfortunately,
I have seen friends and family members drive irresponsibly.
Interestingly enough, after a defensive driving course was attended
by a family friend, in lieu of paying for a ticket, my friend
completely changed his approach to driving. I would definitely say
that a driver’s re-education course has a positive influence when it
comes to responsible driving.

  

Personally,
I can look into taking drivers ed refresher courses as well as
make a conscientious effort to turn-off or ignore my phone while
driving. Phones are now equipped with automatic replies while
driving, I can encourage friends and family members to utilize this
phone feature and/or sync their phones to their vehicles and ignore
texts while driving.