According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) approximately 2,034 teenagers die every year in car accidents. The rate has been going down incrementally every year for eight consecutive years. Male drivers, in specific, are more likely to be involved in a fatal car accident, but they have also had a more considerable decrease in deaths than female drivers. There are several ways that people can help reduce driver deaths including utilizing drivers education and making a road test mandatory.
Driver’s education helps new drivers learn about the rules of the road and teaches new drivers how to drive safely. Some schools offer Driver’s Education (driver’s ed) classes where students are required to learn how to drive and pass a written driving test and a road test before they are allowed on the road. Driver’s ed is not a class that is offered at all schools though. Driver’s ed is important because it ensures that students are competent drivers before they drive on the streets unsupervised. Having a solid foundation in driving skills then reduces the number of accidents that occur, as students are more comfortable and confident when driving. Driver’s ed also ensures that students are learning the proper ways to drive safely. When students are taught by family and friends, they may be misinformed about the proper way to drive. Driver deaths can be decreased by utilizing driver’s ed classes, because students know how to drive safely when they are properly taught.
Teen deaths can also be avoided by making a road test necessary for obtaining a driver’s license. Some states require all students to drive through a standardized course in order to obtain a driver’s license. There is a two part test, part one is written, students have to study the driver’s manual and pass a written portion. If they pass the written portion, then they drive through a standardized test that touches on mandatory driving skills like parallel parking, stopping at stop signs, and following traffic laws. Not all states always require a road test to obtain a license. Especially during and after COVID, road tests were made optional for the safety of drivers and driving examiners. If teens are not required to take a road test they can obtain a license after saying that they’ve driven for a year. This means that not all students will be able to drive sufficiently enough to avoid an accident. If they are required to take a road test, students who are not prepared to drive alone on the roads will be required to wait a longer period of time to try to obtain their license. This will help prevent accidents and possible deaths because there will be less inexperienced drivers on the road.
I have never been in a car accident, but my brother, dad, and cousins were all recently in serious car accidents. My dad is a responsible driver and was driving down a main road in our town. A young girl shot out of a side street without looking both ways. My dad tried to avoid a head-on collision with her and ended up driving up a small slope into a neighbor’s yard and hitting a telephone pole. The girl still hit his car, and she then spun out hitting three more cars in the process. My dad, brother, and all other people involved were completely fine. My dad’s car was totaled, but we were all grateful that they had not been seriously injured.
My cousin, Norah, was riding in a car with her mom, and while they were turning left at an intersection a car tried to speed in front of them hitting the car, breaking all of the windows, and resulting in a trip to the hospital for my aunt. Their car was also totaled, but they were both relatively uninjured with only minor scrapes, bruises, and a slight case of whiplash for my aunt.
I have avoided several accidents where other drivers were not paying attention. Recently, I was driving my brother and his friend home from cross country practice and I was going around a curve towards a bridge. I slowed down, because cars tend to shoot across the bridge, and I am so grateful that I did. A semi-truck had decided to speed over the bridge right as I was driving towards it, but it was too long to simultaneously cross the bridge and go around the curve, so it had gotten stuck. I backed up down the road until the truck could squeeze through, but the experience reminded me that I always need to be aware of my surroundings when driving. To be a better driver, I can pay attention to my surroundings, ensure that I am following traffic laws, and try my best to drive in a safe and reasonable manner. Other people can do the same. Speeding only saves a few minutes, but it increases the chances of crashing exponentially. Driving safely can help reduce accidents and with that reduce the number of deaths caused by accidents.
In retrospect, driving safely is important. Teen driver’s can complete driver’s ed, and a road test to ensure that they are prepared to drive safely. Based on my personal experience with car accidents, they are traumatic, and should be avoided if at all possible. Teaching students how to drive safely will help the number of fatal car accidents to continue to decrease, and help make the roads a safer place for everyone.