Driver education plays a key role in reducing the number of deaths that are a result of driving. Education is the only way by which one can learn what the right or wrong way to do something in a particular field is; a lack of proper education encourages population ignorance, which can lead to devastating consequences. In driving, we must equip our drivers with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and mentality — from the moment we begin driving and well into our advanced and experienced driving years. Knowledge must be built through intentional study of the craft at hand. The mandatory permit examinations are a necessary backbone that ensures that all drivers hold a minimum requirement of road knowledge. This applies to drivers' skills, where it is equally vital that we strictly examine our drivers before giving them jurisdiction to join the highways. We often focus on knowledge and skills when we think of driver education. While they are essential in reducing the number of deaths that are a result of driving, a driver's attitude toward driving is often the determining factor in most deaths on the road. Many times, it's not a driver being skillfully incapable or unaware of the road rules; it's them thinking, "I can speed a little this time," or "I'm sober enough to drive." So long as education can instill a sense of self-responsibility in the individual, that individual will give the road the full attention it deserves at all times and in all instances.
As it relates to reducing the number of deaths related to driving, we must seek options for prevention. While emergency aid and improved vehicle safety have saved the lives of many (including some of my own loved ones), you are always in a better situation saying, "nothing happened on the drive back home" than saying, "at least the ambulance came on time." In America, most deaths as it relates to driving happen to young drivers, from ages 16 to 20. However, in more than half of the states, you can begin driving with your permit when you are 15 or 14. This shows that most deaths do not necessarily come from new drivers but from new drivers who know how to drive and believe they know what they are doing. Once the first year ends and one can "auto-pilot drive," they add distractions. And, unfortunately, the longer they go without a wake-up call, the larger their distractions tend to be, and the larger the consequences end up being. These distractions must be eliminated on all levels. Laws must be enforced more strictly with our young drivers to prevent fatalities, and responsibility must be heavily instilled in them from a young driving age to ensure a firm foundation that will hold no matter the temptations. In countries where both of these have been tackled as a national agenda, the government has seen an extremely low number of deaths that are a result of driving. In particular, Sweden sees two deaths for every 100,000 people, the second lowest in the world, and they have done so by concentrating on these two ideas. Their laws are strict and firm, followed without exception, and their approach, "vision zero," aims to instill a sense of responsibility in their citizens toward reducing driving-related fatalities. We can take a page from their book and make our own "vision zero," wherever we are for ourselves and the people around us.
While I was still in elementary school, my father drove back home after an entire weekend of work. It was past the middle of the night, and he had been on the road for many hours. It was a poorly constructed road with a highway speed limit but a two-lane, two-way road with barely any road lights. The headlights of a truck began shining peculiarly. The odd driving behavior took his attention early since there were barely any cars in either lane. As the truck approached my father, the driver seemed to be losing more control until he eventually steered into the other lane. Alarmed, my father swerved out of the lane, barely grazing out of the head-on collision. However, at his speed and the road shape, the car began rolling uncontrollably like a rugby ball on a bounce until it stopped a minute later. Luckily, the airbags had popped, and the seatbelt fastened in time, keeping him out of the accident out of injury. Later on, we would find out that the truck driver also shared a similar fate, however, with grave injuries as he was asleep and unable to react until it was too late. Since then, my father has been devoted to his and our road safety, emphasizing the importance of safety belts and driving when you are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy.
While there are many things we can do as a people, as a nation, or as a community, these changes will remain fiction so long as there is no change with the individual. I need to keep myself consistently self-aware. Individuals my age are most prone to believing we know how to drive and allowing distractions to slip our way; therefore, I must always remain disciplined, whether it means keeping my phone off when driving or asking my passengers to be my accountability partners, I must not shy in my commitment of road safety. Similarly, I must act as an accountability partner for people driving me, communicating to them if they were to perform an action while driving that may harm them or others. While there are many things we can do, the small actions we do on a day-to-day like this will prevent enormous tragedies. The tiny habit of putting on silent mode or asking your friend to play music while you drive instead of yourself will go a long way in building a sense of responsibility in those around you and yourself as it relates to driving.