Driver Education Initiative – The Dangers of Driving: How Can We Promote Safer Driving?

The
Dangers of Driving: How Can We Promote Safer Driving?

Written
by Sarah Bayne

Driving.
An action taken by millions of people every day. Beginning at age
fifteen, young teens can acquire a permit and drive with another
adult. At sixteen, teens can drive alone. Disease, war, and
kidnappings are feared daily by parents, but what most parents don’t
realize is that the leading cause of death for their teens is motor
vehicle crashes. Demonstrated in a journal article called Injury
to Children and Teenagers: State-by-State Mortality Facts, “totals
are provided for deaths related to motor vehicles and firearms, as
well as homicide, suicide, and unintentional injury. Motor vehicle
traffic deaths account for 37% of all injury deaths in children and
teenagers. For ages 1-19, motor vehicle fatalities outrank all other
injuries and diseases as the leading cause of death,” (Baker et.
al., 1996). Every day, parents worry of unimaginable disasters
happening to their children, however, they allow their kids to
partake in the most dangerous activity for their age- driving.

Being
a defensive driver is an extremely important attribute for teens and
young adults to acquire before driving. Defensive driving is defined
as “to defend yourself against possible collisions caused by bad
drivers, drunk drivers, and poor weather,” (DriversEd.com, para 1).
Defensive driving is a state of mind where drivers are constantly
being aware of surroundings with the purpose of avoiding any possible
crash. Unfortunately, most teens and younger adults would be deemed
as reckless drivers. With mindsets of aggressive driving, and the
eagerness to reach incredibly high speeds, defensive driving isn’t
always attainable. Some accidents are unavoidable, making the roads
an incredibly dangerous place.

A
new issue within today’s generation is the development of
technology. Cell phone use while driving has caused an increased
number of fatal crashes over many years. According to the journal
article by Dr. Seo and Dr. Torabi, “a 2003 National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) survey revealed that 85% of cellphone
owners use their telephones at least occasionally while driving,”
(Seo & Torabi, 2004). Eighty-five percent of cell phone owners
using their phone “occasionally” while driving their vehicle.
This is the major issue within the teen mortality rate. Motor vehicle
crashes are happening because of a preventable distraction on the
road.

These
statistics are hard to swallow, but also preventable. To begin,
drivers ed courses have been proven to be extremely
beneficial to students. Young adults are placed into this course to
learn of the dangers of driving and are taught safety practices to
use while on the road. These courses are so beneficial that insurance
companies provide payment breaks to new drivers who complete the
course. Drivers ed courses I believe would be very
beneficial to bring into public high schools. Exposing students to
this unfamiliar information as they begin their journey as a new
driver could really decrease the desire for aggressive driving that
teenagers tend to possess.

The
restrictions placed on cell phone usage while driving motor vehicles
are great beginner steps towards safer roads. However, many drivers
don’t abide by these laws, which is clearly noted in the number of
drivers who use their cell phones “occasionally” (Seo &
Torabi, 2004). Therefore, another habit that every cell phone owner
should have is handing the passenger their cell phone before taking
off. If there is no passenger, drivers should place their phone in
the middle consol or trunk of their cars. This way, the driver will
be unable to access their cell phone while driving. Hypothetically,
if laws like “cell phones must not be visible to the driver” are
enforced, the mortality rate of teens in car accidents will decrease
substantially.

Personally,
I have been involved in a car accident. I remember vividly my
experience as the driver with a car full of my sixteen-year-old
friends. We spent the hot summer day at a swimming hole back home in
Oregon. When it was time to leave, one friend of mine asked the
others to put their seatbelts on. They refused so I stopped the car
until everyone had clicked their seatbelt. I am still beyond grateful
that my friend had mentioned the fact the others weren’t wearing
their seatbelts because within ten minutes, we hit a 2010 BMW on
Highway 44 going 60 miles per hour, with no time to break. This
accident was emotionally draining. A car of five teenagers and a car
of two parents and a young child could have been another statistic on
the charts. Thankfully, not a single person was injured beyond
soreness and a few bruises.

This
experience is my passion for this essay. I will never loose the vivid
memories I have from that accident. The sound of the vehicles
colliding was like a cannon shot right beside us. The slow-motion
view of my car spinning in circles and watching the windshield
crumble into thousands of pieces. Feeling my hands being forcefully
pushed behind my head from an airbag that I didn’t even realize
exploded. And then the car stopped. Stopped spinning, and a loud
ringing began in my ears as the car filled with smoke that the
airbags released, and as a friend began screaming for us to get out.
I immediately unbuckled my seatbelt, opened my door, and crawled out
of my crumbled 1997 Volvo. I was disoriented, unaware if I had
injuries, or if anyone else in my car was hurt. My initial reaction
was shock. I was lost, standing in the middle of a highway with four
high school friends, realizing that someone could be dead.

Thankfully,
my accident was a blessing. Firefighters were two blocks from the
accident, heard the crash, and arrived on scene within two minutes.
No one from either car suffered serious injuries and the other driver
claimed fault for the accident which saved my family from many court
bills. I came out of that accident a stronger person and a more
observant driver. Although I was unable to prevent the accident, I am
more observant of the precautions I must take when driving or being a
passenger.

To
conclude, driving is extremely dangerous to partake in, however, it’s
an unavoidable task that everyone is apart of at some point in their
lives. Whether a passenger or a driver, it’s important to be aware
of your surroundings. As a driver, being defensive, enforcing
seatbelts, and refraining from cell phone use is your role as the
driver. As a passenger, it’s important you hold the driver
accountable of these things. This will protect you and all the others
in the vehicle. Unfortunately, not everyone gets as lucky as I did in
my accident, however, I will spend the rest of my life thankful that
the outcome wasn’t another statistic to add to the millions every
year.

References

Baker,
S. P., et. al., (1996). Injury to Children and Teenagers:
State-by-State Mortality Facts. The
National Academies of Science Engineering Medicine. Retrieved
from https://trid.trb.org/view/461063

DriversEd.com.
Defensive Driving Techniques. Retrieved from
https://driversed.com/driving-information/defensive-driving/defensive-driving-techniques.aspx

Seo,
Dong-Chul. & Torabi, Mohammad R. (2004). The Impact of In-Vehicle
Cell-Phone Use on Accidents or Near-Accidents Among College Students.
Journal
of American College Health, 53(3),
101. Retrieved from
http://xs6th8dt4r.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=DC&aulast=Seo&atitle=The+impact+of+in-vehicle+cell-phone+use+on+accidents+or+near-accidents+among+college+students&id=doi:10.3200/JACH.53.3.101-108&title=Journal+of+American+college+health&volume=53&issue=3&date=2004&spage=101&issn=0744-8481