When a person tries to research the top three causes of motor vehicle accidents resulting in death, the data is staggering. There seem to be so many variables such as if vehicle occupants were wearing a seatbelt, driving impaired, the angle they were hit, the roadway obstacles, and even a drivers’ age varies greatly. Therefore with all of the many different variables, the data can be difficult to sift through and determine its direct relationship to the driver's education. However, three things do stand out in all the data collected. If the driver is exhibiting distracted driving, speeding, and/or driving impaired, the risk of a motor vehicle accident increases greatly. Most people can agree that all of those things can affect how we drive. The government has tried to reduce all of the three main issues for drivers by setting up speed limits, passing laws against holding/using your phone, and changing laws to increase the penalties for driving impaired. However, driver education can have a positive influence on reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving. Our country needs to ban the states together and pass laws that are the same across the borders of the states. Then the states need to advertise and market those laws to help people become aware.
According to PennDOT, a drivers education helps you gain the skills and experience you need not only to pass your drivers test but also to be able to make smarter decisions when driving. PennDOT says on its website that they are committed to reducing the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents to zero. Many steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. Some of these steps may include all passengers wearing a seat belt, going the speed limit, having supervised practice, reading the manual, knowing the laws, and much more. Car accidents cannot always be prevented, however, having a good education about driving can reduce the risk. I have both experienced an accident driving and being in the car with someone else who has gotten into an accident. Both instances were very scary but also good learning lessons. In my case, I learned that I needed more knowledge on what to do when you are driving and causing an accident. I was so scared I just stayed in my car and had no idea what to do. With a better driving education, I would feel more comfortable in that situation and confident in knowing how to prevent it and what to do after it happened. From being a passenger of someone in an accident I was able to learn valuable information about being a defensive driver. Without education on defensive driving, you are more likely to get into an accident caused by another person. To be a better and safer driver and help others to be safer on the roads many steps can be taken. You can sign up for both online and in-person drivers courses. Driving courses help to educate a driver not only before they start driving but can also educate them once they start driving. These classes should be mandatory for teen drivers. Currently, in the state of PA, driver's education given by a certified teacher is not a mandatory requirement to receive your license. It is only required that you receive at least 30 hours of behind-the-wheel experience. Unfortunately, many terrible drivers are teaching teens how to drive and that doesn’t help reduce accidents. Keep in mind that currently, people are not required to show their driving logs, so if they only have 10 hours in daylight they need not show any proof otherwise.
Another way to educate drivers is to focus on the marketing of the effects of distracted driving. When my mom was in high school, her junior and senior classes had an assembly where they saw the mashed-up vehicle of a vehicle destroyed in an accident. That positively impacted my mom to not make the same choices that the driver had made. With the constant use of cell phones, notifications and lots of distractions, it is very difficult to keep people to focus on the road and drivers around them. By having a strong marketing campaign, the state can focus on educating drivers on the need to pay attention, the need to put their phones away or mute notifications will help remind drivers to focus on the road. Large billboards along local roadways, ads on numerous streaming entities and posters in the schools will also help to put safe driving at the forefront of people’s minds.
Lastly, during my senior year of high school, a few friends of mine were killed in a car accident due to speeding. They were teenage boys and they were going too fast around a curve, they ended up sliding off the roadway into oncoming traffic and they all died instantly. This story is heard too often and sadly could have been prevented. I wonder if the education of the effects of speeding could have saved their lives. Had they been taught in class that force and speed can directly influence a vehicle’s placement, would that have been enough to deter them? Schools could educate students about real-life choices in science, math, or even driver’s ed. All three classes could have explained to students Newton’s First Law of Motion - when an object is in motion, it stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this case, the unbalanced force could have been the use of the brakes in the vehicle.
Driver’s education can help drivers to become more aware of laws and help to learn to become more familiar with their vehicles. It can also help teach defensive driving as well as the importance to focus and drive unimpaired. Oprah Winfrey said it best, “Education is the key to unlocking the world. It is the passport to freedom.” If our nation wants to reduce deaths due to motor vehicles, it is imperative to educate drivers of all ages.