I believe that driver education plays a critical role in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving. When most people think about driver education, they likely think about the course teenagers take to help prepare them to pass their driver test and get their driver’s license. However, once that class is over, how do we continue to educate drivers, especially teenage drivers who are the most susceptible to being involved in accidents? I believe there is an opportunity to expand this education in order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving.
It has only been a couple of years since I completed driver’s education and I continue to use and reference many of the skills that I learned in class. The rules of the road so to speak. Technical driving skills. I grew up riding four wheelers and dirt bikes, so I felt pretty comfortable behind the wheel when I started to learn to drive. Taking driver’s ed certainly expanded my knowledge of driving and helped in preparing me to become a licensed driver. However, there are some skills that you can’t really put into practice to the extent needed until you start driving on your own with the road as your classroom. Critical skills such as judgement and decision making. If you think about it, the number of decisions a driver makes to get from point A to point B is countless: how fast to go, how close to follow behind the car in front of you, whether to slow down or go through a yellow light, whether to switch lanes when a car is trying to merge, whether to text while driving. These decisions, as well as so many others, ultimately have a tremendous impact on safety. One bad decision can lead to an accident and in a worst-case scenario, death.
Unfortunately, I have been in a pretty traumatic car accident and it is something that I never want to go through again. I was 17 and a newly licensed driver. It was around 6pm on a Wednesday night and I was driving home from the gym. I was only about five minutes from home and remember having the window down and sunroof open because it was such a nice evening. The car in front of me stopped suddenly and to try to avoid hitting them, I jerked the wheel to the right. It was a split-second decision that to be honest, I barely remember making. When you are faced with a decision like that, you don’t have time to totally process what to do. I jerked the wheel and the next thing I knew my car was rolling over. So much goes through your head in those few moments. I was scared and shocked. When the car came to a stop after rolling over two times, it landed on its side on the front lawn of someone’s house. I got out by crawling through the sunroof and was met by the homeowner who was asking me if I was ok. Shockingly I was. Only a few bumps and bruises. It could have been so much worse. I remember calling my parents. I had just talked with them a few minutes before the accident to let them know I was on my way home. When I called again, they knew something was wrong. My dad picked up the phone immediately and once I told him what happened, he was at the accident within ten minutes. The car was totaled, but looking back it could have been so much worse. I drive by the accident site all of the time and I realize how lucky I was. I could have hit a tree, I could have went in a ditch, I could have hit someone walking or riding their bike on the road, I could have hit another car…..the possibilities are endless.
To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, I believe there should be more education about the impact of speeding, distracted driving, driving while impaired, etc via media campaigns targeted at newly licensed teenage drivers after they have completed drivers education. Like most teenagers, I spend time on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok and I can honestly say that I have never seen a video on my page related to these topics. Knowing that these sites have a way to target certain messages to certain groups of people, I think there is an opportunity to get messaging to younger drivers to raise awareness of the dangers that come with driving a car. Videos and stories of people whose lives have been forever altered by a driver who made a bad decision or judgement can be very impactful. There are “influencers” on these sites for just about everything, but I haven’t seen one truly try to influence this topic.
As human beings, we largely learn from our mistakes. Although I do not wish being in a car accident on anyone, I know that I am a safer driver now because of mine. Again, I got lucky. Although I don’t remember every detail leading up to the accident, I wonder: was I following too closely or was I driving too fast? Those are judgements and decisions every driver makes every time they get behind the wheel. I find myself asking now, what is hurry? Safety is my top priority always. I don’t want to hurt myself or anyone else. My friends know about my accident and now when I drive with them, I find myself giving advice: slow down, there is stopped traffic ahead, let me text for you. I want my friends to learn from my mistake and avoid making their own. I want them to be safe. I want to educate them. Knowledge is power. We all have power when we get behind the wheel of a car and educating ourselves and others on the consequences of misusing that power can and will save lives.