Driving is a skillset that can be learned. To be competent, it requires you to learn the laws and core knowledge. In addition, one needs to practice to hone the skill set. Driving education is the smartest choice for a driver to learn the art of driving.
Proper driver education would not only prepare you for obtaining your driver's license but would also raise awareness of the aptitudes and behaviors of safe driving. The ultimate goal of driver education is to keep you safe while behind the wheel. As time progresses, driving education needs to stay in alignment with the latest safe driving practices and car technologies. We all know how car technologies nowadays can distract us from focusing on the task at hand. At the same time, driver education is not the only mechanism to lower the number of fatalities due to driving.
One drastic measure is to combine weather forecasts with traffic patterns. Lately, I have seen many car pileup accidents due to poor driving conditions, such as visibility, icy roads, etc. It begs the question, just as flights are canceled/delayed because of poor weather conditions, can it be done the same for road traffic? This drastic measure might negatively impact business, but if it is well planned, and combined weather patterns with road traffic, I am confident some good can come out to further minimize these car pileups.
Other steps to be taken are for drivers to develop personal responsibility and speak up culture. Personal responsibility is about acknowledging that driving is like carrying a live weapon. If we don't know how to use it, we can “misfire the weapon” causing major damage. New drivers, and even those renewing driver licenses, should take some virtual reality-type training. These VR training will provide various scenarios for the student driver to immerse in those experiences. Many times, one needs to “go through bad” to learn the “good”. VR could offer an alternative to experiencing those bad outcomes of unsafe driving. This idea is very similar to what pilots do to get their licenses. Another aspect of developing personal responsibility is connecting with those who have either caused an accident or been a victim of one whether it was themselves or a loved one who passed away from one. Learning from those experiences, and listening to the personal accounts of those people would raise awareness to new-coming drivers that people’s lives are in the palm of their hands.
Speak-up culture is about being comfortable in letting a driver know of their unsafe behavior. Friends and/or relatives care for one another to let each other know they are driving irresponsibly. Whether a driver is knowingly driving irresponsibly or not if another person lets them know that they don't feel safe and/or let the driver know of the consequences of their actions, slowly but surely they will begin to drive responsibly. Whenever either of my parents drives irresponsibly (not using signals, speeding), one of my siblings will let them know, but it depends on who is the one driving. If my dad is the one driving my sister will warn him and will also tell his parents (our grandparents) about how he has been driving. If it is multiple times that he doesn't use his signals, my sister will tell our grandpa that he didn't use his signals x amount of times. If my mom is the one driving, my brother would be the one to warn her. Sometimes, when she speeds, my brother would look at the speedometer and what the speed limit is and tell her that she is going over the limit. For example, if she is going 50mph on a 45, my brother will say “Mami, you are going 50 when the speed limit is 45.” Note that my brother is only 7 years old and he is one of the best examples of speak-up culture. Thanks to my siblings, our parents’ driving habits have slowly turned them into responsible drivers.
I'll admit, I'm no expert at driving. I have many miles and roads to go. One thing that I am self-aware of is when it is a new driving experience. For instance, I had never had the opportunity to drive under intense rain, what precautions to take, etc. One time, my dad and I were heading to the west coast of Florida; Fort Myers. There was a major storm system on the forecast and potential closure of the main highway - Alligator Way. With heavy rains and thunderstorms, it was best to stay home. As I tracked the storm we saw the opportunity on when to leave to avoid the worst part of the rain. As we were leaving, I remembered that I had never driven in those conditions so I asked my dad if he would be comfortable for me to do it. He said yes and I drove to our destination using the experience to enhance my defensive driving techniques. I even had a low-pressure tire and learned how to monitor it and drive like that until there was a safe spot. We even debriefed scenarios if conditions were different and how important it is to pre-plan and know your roads without the assistance of GPS.
In summary, considering drastic measures such as road closures, applying personal responsibility, and speaking up are all potential methods to lower the number of fatalities due to driving and increase safe driving behaviors.