What is the point of getting people to understand and educate themselves on the importance of safe driving? This is one of the hardest questions to answer because people often feel invincible behind the wheel. Raising awareness about the fact that there are steps that we can take to help reduce car related death is critical. Education is one of the first steps. I find myself passionate about this topic because I know what it is like to experience a car crash, both as a passenger and driver. I was one of the people who believed themselves to be invincible; how wrong was I?!
Speaking from experience, I know that many high schools in New Jersey offer driver education. This education alone cannot teach future drivers that their innate ability to believe that they can survive anything is false when it comes to car wrecks. The course briefly touches upon numbers of fatalities, but the stats do not make a strong enough connection. Including different experiences such as virtual reality, and more real behind the wheel experience would allow students to witness the strong impact from the beginning.
Another way that can help students to understand the urgency of safe driving is have EMTs come into the school. They can connect with students on a deeper level because they have first-hand experience on treating patients on the scenes of a crash. Their words are not empty meanings that are read from a script. They connect to students in a deeper meaning because they have seen the horrors in person. The EMTS have seen accidents caused by a variety of reasons, include drunk driving and distracted driving. These types specifically showcase to students what you can and what you cannot control while driving.
Education provides the hard facts of unsafe driving that new drivers think do not apply to them. The rate of 0.7% (USA Today) fatal deaths due to car crashes may seem low but it is still a reality. Harsh statistics let new drivers or current understand that accidents are not only the result of their own driving which they can control, but of outside forces as well.
Educating drivers on the importance of keeping their full attention on the road is important, especially now-a-days with modern technology. People want to stay connected, so they take the risk of just a few seconds on a text when this has their mind fully unfocused on what is happening on the road. According to studies, “6 percent of fatal car crashes in 2021 involved distracted driving. Of the drivers involved in distracted driving, 65 percent were described as ‘lost in thought (daydreaming).’ Another 11 percent were engaging in cell phone use.” With cellphone use a common occurrence, it has become habit for many drivers to be constantly checking their device for any updates. This leading to crashes caused by distracted driving, which could have been easily avoided.
I have learned this firsthand from my previous experiences as a passenger and as a driver. As a passenger I have learned that I have no control in the car. My family and I were T boned by a young, distracted driver. It was one of my scariest moments because I never saw it coming. The day started off nicely. We were laughing and joking, waiting for the light to turn green. When it did, my mom continued forward, and all I remember was screaming and yelling. Our car turned onto two wheels, and I could feel my dog brushing against my legs. We had no control that day. A car came out of nowhere. The day ended not only with broken glass and a lot of fear, but also the unnecessary death of our fur baby.
I have also experienced a moment of my own irresponsibility when it comes to driving. I let myself be distracted by my cellphone while driving. At the time I just wanted to take a quick look to see if I was making good time to a location. In the split second of my taking my eyes off the road, my car drifted into the other lane and bumped into a trunk. It was not a major crash, and no one got hurt, but that forceful tap between cars reminded me of the car accident I had years earlier.
I used to think that when I became a driver, I would never be doing something such as causing an accident. Yet, I became one of the statistics in distracted driving. The steps I have taken to become a better and safer driver is by drawing from previous experiences and by re-educating myself. I had to take a deeper look inside into what pain I could cause someone else’s family and my own if I continue to drive distracted. One of the ways I educated myself further was to ask my brother if his fellow firefighters could offer tips and advice on the importance of staying aware. It is their advice that I continue to spread to my friends and family members who are behind the wheel. I take it seriously because I would never want anyone to experience what I did from my earlier crash.