Change the System, Save More Lives

The average number of deaths due to motor vehicles in the United States from 2014-2019 is 3,581 people, according to statista.com. Driver's Education plays the very important role of teaching people how to properly drive. By informing drivers the dos and don’ts of the road, it should help reduce the risk of driving accidents. But, that only works if people actually uphold the rules. Sadly, many people ignore driving regulations over time, resulting in careless driving and a rising death toll. A possible solution for this would be to test more strictly and more frequently. Although there are already legally-required license renewals, those take place online every five years with every third renewal taking place in-person in the state of California. If the law was changed so that a renewal is required to take place every three years with an in-person meeting every other renewal, it would promote long-term retention of driving laws. It would save even more lives if the requirements to pass the test were stricter and more difficult. Another thing that could be changed for the better would be to lower the cost of taking the actual driving test as a teenager. The lower the cost, the more accessible it would be to retake the test as many times as necessary to pass properly. A family friend of mine has a son and when he took his driver’s test for the first time, he failed. So, he kept taking it. After a few attempts, the person testing him just gave him a pass, even though he did not execute proper driving technique. It is occurrences like that that are putting unfit drivers on the road and contributing to the thousands of car-related deaths. After seeing a car spiral off of a bridge and onto the street below in Castaic, it has really put into perspective the importance of upholding rules like keeping the speed limit, using the turn signals, and maintaining proper car spacing. To be a safer driver, I am going to follow the mantra “drive like nobody else knows how to.” It is a very helpful rule that reminds me to be acutely aware of my surroundings, since I never know what could happen.