When I was about twelve years old, I was driving home with my father. We got a call from my mother that she had been in a crash and drove to get her and my younger brothers. My mother had rearended another car due to condensed traffic. My mother was trying to merge and when she looked to check her blind spot, the car in front of her hit their brakes, causing my mother to run into them. It was not a highspeed crash but both vehicles were severely wrecked. She had done everything right and still got into a crash. Thankfully no one was seriously injured. The whole situation was still quite scary.
Despite the crash, I was immensely excited to start my driver’s education journey and finally get behind the wheel. I had images of unlimited freedom and time, no longer tied to my parents’ availability. I sat through the many hours of class and realized just how much more there was to driving. In concept, driving seems very simple, gas to go, brake to stop, don’t hit the other cars. However, in reality there are many different things to pay attention to, all of which can go very wrong. Driver’s education helped me realize how much there really is to driving and that is why driver’s education is so important to the safety of drivers and passengers alike. Without it, no one would know when to merge onto the highway or about the dangerous blind spot on every vehicle. Even with all the driver assistance technology, knowing the basics of how to check your blind spot or your position on the road is critical to a safe ride.
Hands on experience with a trained instructor is just as important as the classroom. Some things, such as confidence in checking your blind spot or learning how to spot deer in the ditches, cannot be taught with pen and paper in a lecture setting. That’s why behind the wheel training is just as important. When I was in driver’s education, I only had to do three sessions with a certified instructor. Increasing the number of sessions would help improve students’ abilities to drive, helping them to be safer and more confident out on the roads.
One way to decrease deaths while driving is to start requiring a basic test to be taken before a driver’s license is renewed. This would encourage people to remember and relearn certain driving laws that they may have forgotten many years after driver’s education. With the laws refreshed every four years, more people would understand the consequences of reckless driving and the responsibility they are taking up by getting behind the wheel. Another way would be to increase enforcement of seat belt and speed limit laws. One thing I remember learning in driver’s education was that being in an accident as slow as 12 miles per hour without a seatbelt could kill you. If there was an increase in both seatbelt and speed limit enforcements, then more lives could be saved. Stricter phone laws have helped but many cars come with more distracting technology. Finding ways to limit driver’s access to what is essentially a large phone would help drivers to focus and pay attention to the road, reducing crashes and deaths. Having more accessible and safe parking lots and rest areas would allow exhausted drivers to take a nap or a break, increasing alertness. Increasing awareness of the dangers of drowsy driving is also important. In some cases, driving drowsy can be more deadly than driving tipsy. Late night drives are fun but unless the driver is properly rested, they can turn deadly in a few seconds.
As a driver I can make myself safer by driving when I am fully alert and reducing distractions such as loud music in my car while I drive. I can follow the three second rule when behind another car and remember to check my blind spot when I switch lanes or merge. Wearing my seatbelt and following the speed limit can protect me and being aware of my surroundings and being conscious of my actions can protect others around me. As a passenger I can act as a second pair of eyes and as a navigator for the driver. I can find the right song or answer a text message so the driver can remain focused on the road. I can talk to them to keep them awake, or even take over driving when they need a break. As a driver or a passenger, I can take the time to know the route I want to take, limit distractions, and keep the focus on the road, no matter where we are going or what time of day it is.