Having finished the typical driver’s education course offered in highschool, sometimes I believe I overestimate my knowledge in safe driving. I’ve been driving for over 2 years now and have many friends that are driving now as well. So much freedom comes with driving and it’s a very obvious benefit as a teenager, but this also comes with very real dangers. Without the general knowledge I received from my driver education course, I genuinely don’t think that I would have survived my first time on the road driving alone. As I think about it now, I find that I have a lot of gratitude for the ability I have to learn about driver safety and those who have taught me what I know. With this personal insight on driving and after observing the graphs presented showing the amount of vehicle deaths over the years, the importance of driver education in reducing deaths is incredibly clear. Without the most baseline knowledge, new drivers can’t be expected to gain experience on the road and learn the intricacies of driving on the road.
Specific steps I think can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is emphasizing the importance of driving when you are in the right headspace and reducing taboos behind asking for help. During my first year of driving, I experienced a crash. I was trying to make a left turn and was going far too fast during a snowstorm because I was feeling anxious and frankly depressed about a matter going on in my personal life. My emotions translated into my actions without me even realizing it, until I had spun out and hit a metal barricade. Such a quick-minded slip up like that caused so many issues for me, could have killed me and was entirely avoidable. This is why I think more young drivers should be taught to be aware of their emotions before getting behind the wheel, and take introspective action to calm down or ask for help before making a rash decision. My irresponsible driving left a mark on me and is something I wish would’ve been talked about more in my driver education course before I was left to make those decisions on my own.
Besides taking into account your own personal mindset before driving, so many more steps can be taken as a whole to ideally become a better and safer driver. When driving on the road today, a very common thing every driver comes across is aggressive driving. Whether it's another person on the road or your own frustrations, aggressive action on the road is a regularity all drivers should know about and understand. Admittedly, it is very difficult to stay amicable on the road at all times, but I think if more people gave those around them some grace and didn’t jump to certain conclusions or take immediate action against others, that the roads in general would be safer and easier to manage. Another key aspect of being a safe driver is not assuming certain things. Something that I experience, especially when driving for a long time, is getting too comfortable as a driver. Unfortunately, sometimes when it's just me on the road I won’t check blindspots or do the simple, simple things because I assume no one else is around me. I’ve been around other drivers who do the same thing and it always scares me, but I do the same thing and I believe many others do as well. Even though it may seem innocuous, it is something that can very easily result in a crash while also being super avoidable. The last thing I want to mention to become a safer driver and help those around you do better as well is not being afraid to have important conversations with the people you are driving with. When I was in middle school, my best friend’s older sister would often drive us around and oftentimes, she would look at her phone or text while driving. I used to feel intense anxiety when I was a passenger in her car, but I never spoke up. About two years ago, I also lost my uncle Ben in a drunk driving accident. He was at a bar with friends and left, drunk, to drive his motorcycle home. He didn’t make it home that night and now me and the rest of my family have to live with the grief that comes from losing him. I would never blame the people he was with that night, but I do wonder how things could have been different if someone had kept him from driving inebriated that night. In both of these cases, huge consequences were at play because people weren’t confident or felt comfortable saying something. The whole “see something, say something” mantra has been passed around in so many circumstances but it’s more valuable than people realize. This, to me, is the most important change that we can make as a society and as individuals when thinking about driver safety and being a better driver because the stigma behind healthy criticism and communication has affected me so deeply and personally.
Driver education is so vital. Whether the consequence in a situation is a scratch on a car or the death of a family member, every impromptu action while driving can be thought about beforehand and made better. Even if being more peaceful on the road causes you to be a few minutes late to a meeting, even if you have to take a few deep breaths before leaving a friend’s house, even if you have to have difficult conversations with those you love, it’s worth it to be a safe and better driver.