Driving, the Most Dangerous Privilege You’ll Ever Have

Everyone
probably remembers the first time they got behind the wheel of a car.
It’s a pretty daunting task for everyone involved, whether it’s
the driver themselves, a parent or legal guardian, or a Drivers Ed
teacher. As my drivers ed teacher told me, “Driving will be the
most dangerous thing you do on a daily basis.” But, drivers ed
is definitely a major factor in learning to safely navigate the road,
and it can help reduce the number of deaths from reckless driving.

In the state that I
live in, there were 988 fatal crashes in 2017, and 36.8% of fatal
crashes were caused by speeding. Out of those 988 crashes, 86.3% of
the fatal crashes happened on dry roads, and 48.9% of fatal crashes
occurred during daylight hours. This data shows that speeding, or
reckless driving is a large contributor to fatalities from car
accidents. If the majority of those fatal crashes happened when the
weather was fair (when the roads were dry), and almost half of them
happened during the day, then reckless driving is a major explanation
for fatal crashes.

Thankfully, these
are just statistics, and statistics are not permanent. There are many
ways drivers can safely navigate the roads, and examples of this can
be obeying the speed limits and the rules of the road, not
participating in risky games or behaviors, and making sure drivers
are aware of the consequences and unfortunate circumstances produced
by reckless driving. If we are able to raise a generation that
understands the importance of safe driving, and educate them on safe
behaviors to adhere to behind the wheel.

One cautionary tale
of reckless driving that I have witnessed happened in my community in
the spring of 2018. Every year, seniors and juniors from my high
school play a game called paranoia. It’s basically where students
make teams and have a nerf gun fight. The winner gets a cash prize,
but that’s only if they follow all of the ridiculous rules and ,of
course, never get shot. Sometimes these nerf gun fights take place in
a police style chase. This is obviously reckless driving behavior,
and can be dangerous. Well, for one of the teens in our community, it
was almost deadly. This student was speeding in a car chase when
their car flipped off the road and onto a nearby sidewalk. They had
taken the curve too fast and had lost control of the car. Luckily
this student walked away from the crash, but they could’ve become
yet another statistic for fatal deaths caused by reckless driving. We
have since banned the game from our community, and while some
students still play, there is a better understanding of what can
happen when being reckless on the road.

I don’t play this
game like some of my students, and that is just one of the ways I
practice safe driving. Another way is being aware of my surroundings
when I drive, and that includes being aware of the speed limits on
the roads I drive. I try to encourage safe driving behaviors for my
friends as well, because being safe on the road is always worth more
than risking lives for a quick thrill. So yes, driving may be the
most dangerous thing we can do, but with the proper precautions and
education we can all work to decrease the number of fatalities from
reckless driving, and even enjoy the privilege of driving.