I can still recall it to this day, the moment I stepped in my drivers ed classroom; it was a simple one day class afforded to adults who had not taken drivers education during high school. We went over the signs to look for, the markings in the road, and the professor showed a few photos of accidents to stress the importance of driving the speed limit. Seeing those pictures reminded me of my dad, who was in law enforcement, and would often take pictures of accidents and show them to me as I was growing up. He would always try to educate me on the dangers of unsafe drivers. To be honest, I did not take any of it seriously, not even when my mother got into a fender bender. I was in the back seat of the car and the lady that was behind us did not leave enough room to stop. Even after being in accidents and watching how my parents drove, I figured that if I was driving and stayed in my own lane then that was all I needed to do to be safe; it is so much more than that. Education is vital as is understanding the risks that are imposed around you as you are driving a vehicle and what potential risks you may make for someone else if you are a negligent driver.
On December 2nd of 2013, I started taking safe driving much more seriously when I received a phone call from one of my friends while I was at work. She told me through her breaking voice that one of our dearest friends, Jackie, passed tragically in a car accident when their vehicle stalled on the side of the highway. We found out the details later from the other three survivors of the accident on how the vehicle had stalled on the shoulder of the highway. They turned on their hazard lights and called for a tow truck, even debating on if they should leave or wait. They decided to wait as they did not feel safe walking along the side of the highway. She switched her seat with her partner who expressed that Jackie told her that she did not want her on the side where the traffic was. As they were waiting a driver in a large Ford truck failed to maintain attention and veered out of the lane into the shoulder and struck the back of their vehicle, killing Jackie and seriously injuring the other three passengers. When we got off the phone I locked the store I was working in, and sat on the floor crying over her life being cut so short. The thought often comes to mind that if that man had been paying attention, surely he would have seen their hazard lights, and maybe he would have moved over to the left hand lane to be safe. We hear these stories all the time, but it is so much more different when you know the people involved.
Back in 2018 a young man driving 101 miles an hour in a 25 mile per hour speed limit zone ended up hitting a mother and her infant in the stroller as they were crossing the street. He killed them both and caused absolute devastation to four families and also destroyed his own life for his negligent driving as he must sit in prison until he can be released on probation. This could have been easily avoided if he simply obeyed the speed limit and yielded to the pedestrians.
Because of the numerous concerns surrounding driving and making sure a person is educated when they get behind the wheel is more prevalent now as we advance in technology. During my driver's education we didn’t discuss the potential of vehicles being able to notify the driver of text messages, but my car will notify me of every single text message and phone call which is incredibly distracting even when I put my phone in the glove box to not be encouraged to pick it up. As we advance in that technology we need to consider adding to Driver’s Education programs additional things to help make safer drivers and also make it more accessible both to young drivers seeking their permit and older drivers who did not take the opportunity of drivers education in high school.
If we start to encourage that phones be placed on a ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode when someone is driving, then drivers will commit to focusing on the road and others around them instead of being distracted by a text message or phone call. Other additions that can be added to any driving program can include creating simulations such as driving in bad weather.
I grew up in El Paso, Texas where we are not often exposed to road conditions like ice or snow; we do get some rain but often our roads dry very quickly. For programs in areas that do not experience ice or snow, or severe weather, there should be a way to simulate what that driving experience would be like as it is better to be prepared for potential conditions then never experience it until you happen to find yourself in that situation. I have had to educate myself on how to handle my vehicle as I moved from El Paso, Texas to southern Colorado and experienced first hand that you cannot go the speed limit when the road is not plowed, sanded or salted. I further taught myself in an empty parking lot and started to figure out how my car would react if I hit my brakes suddenly to avoid local wildlife, or what would happen if I jerked my steering wheel to the side to make a sharp turn.
We also need to introduce in these programs the importance of road rage; I can admit I am guilty of getting frustrated because the driver in front of me is going so slow and I need to get to work or get to the store but I will then find myself realizing they are being a safer driver than I am and I should not be upset because I will get to my destination eventually. It is better to be safe than to be upset. If we were to introduce the coping mechanism to use while driving, like taking a few deep breaths, then we can remain calm and focus on operating our vehicle safely. We can harp on the importance of driver education, but committing to safely driving is often something that we take for granted.
Now having been an active driver for twelve years, I find myself to be a significantly safer driver compared to when I started. Following traffic laws, constantly checking my surroundings, always moving to the other lane if possible when I see a stalled vehicle, or an officer with a vehicle pulled over. I pull all the way over and stop when I am driving and see emergency services are on route;.I keep at least one car or more between me and the driver in front and have a strict seat belt policy in my vehicle. I will never drive under any substances as in the two years of my educational journey I have witnessed how frequent motor vehicle accidents are and from personal experiences know how traumatizing and heart breaking they can be. If we simply start this sort of education as early as possible we can encourage the next generation to be the safer driver.