The importance of driver education in reducing the number of driving deaths is incredibly important. I think where we fail in driver education is grabbing the student’s attention and making the material interesting enough to WANT to listen and learn. There is a difference between listening to the material and truly comprehending the material. When I was in high school my driver education class was incredibly interesting. You couldn’t have walked away from that class and learned nothing if you tried. The officers teaching the class made it very real. They truly brought reality into the classroom. They didn’t tailor the material to high school students or hide the realities of the dangers of the road. They highlighted those things and treated us like adults in the classroom. We were brought outside to see wreckage from an accident involving a drunk driver. We were shown pictures of accidents. They brought volunteers who had been in these accidents to tell us their stories and, let me tell you what, there’s nothing more real than listening to a victim recount the accident that cost them their leg or when someone in an accident was told their family member didn’t survive. There is too much watering down of the material for today’s drivers. Stop it. Bring reality to the classroom. Is it tough material to learn? Yes. Does it affect you on a very real level? Absolutely. That is part of the reason I think I’m the driver I am today is because I don’t ever want to experience the terror that these officers and victims felt during these accidents.
Steps that can be taken to reduce the number of fatalities is harsher penalties for distracted and drunk driving. None of this slap on the hand and don’t do it again nonsense. I’m talking about your first offense results in a six month license suspension and community service. Second offense is two year license suspension and jail time, and any other offenses after that should mean indefinite jail time because you clearly didn’t learn a lesson. More checkpoints. Will it annoy people? Probably? Is it better than being hit by a drunk driver that could have been caught by one of these checkpoints? Absolutely. Cars are vastly more technologically advanced than they ever were. With that technology comes more risk. Automatic restrictions should be put in place while driving. Phones should sense when you are in a moving vehicle and lock your phone. Car technology should automatically become locked on the current settings while driving to keep focus on the road and not on the radio.
I thank God that I’ve never been in a car accident, but I have been in the car with friends and family that have been distracted drivers. It’s incredibly frustrating and scary when I’m right next to someone driving that isn’t even looking at the road. As the driver, they should realize and understand that they hold their passenger’s lives in their hands and that’s no small task. I try and minimize those types of situations by doing my best to put myself in a situation where I’m always the driver.
To better my own driving skills I need to make sure that if I have a lot on my mind I’m putting it aside while driving. Having too much on your mind can be just as bad as looking down at your phone while driving. I need to set my thoughts aside while driving and be fully present on the road. As for friends and family that I see messing with the radio or phone while driving I will continue to mention that I’d be happy to drive so they can focus on whatever situation is happening that keeps them looking down at their phone more than the road and I will continue to offer to change the radio or mess with whatever technology is in the vehicle so they can keep their eyes on the road.
Honestly, at the end of the day it’s about personal responsibility and whether we choose to take on that responsibility or not. We as individuals see driving as a right instead of a privilege. We need to be knocked down a peg or two and reminded that driving is a privilege easily taken away. We have to have compassion for everyone that we share the road with. We have to hope and pray that a majority of drivers will have that same compassion and sense of responsibility. Drive as if your life depends on it…because it does.