In
another world, car crashes wouldn’t be the fourth leading cause of
death in America. Lives wouldn’t be lost because of careless
mistakes: taking eyes off the road to reply to a text, driving while
sleep deprived, not checking the blind spot, driving under the
influence, speeding. Perhaps it’s impossible to remove all human
error, but in another world, people know how to drive responsibly.


In
another world, every driver would be educated before taking on the
road. Everyone would take a course on driving safely and what to do
in emergency situations. They would know how serious breaking the law
would be, they would know what an issue driving accidents have become
as they hear the statistical data for themselves, they would
understand how it feels to lose a loved one because someone else had
been careless. They would realize the responsibility that they
shoulder with a license and the power they have behind the wheel
through their education. After all, as my friend says, a car is
almost like a weapon.


In
another world, more measures would be taken to reduce the number of
deaths related to driving. Licenses would be harder to obtain. Teens
would have to prove to be more mature. Drive tests would be more of
an actual test instead of being like a 20-minute ride around town.
Cars would be manufactured to be safer. And distraction free driving
would be better enforced with stricter laws and punishments.


In
another world, not everyone would have the unfortunate experience of
witnessing irresponsible driving. As a child, I have seen adults
taking pictures of the scenery as they speed down the freeway,
swerving left and right. Children shouldn’t be exposed to such
dangerous behavior. Rather, children should be exposed to positive
influences, role model behavior they could mimic as they grow older.


In
another world, my phone, your phone, every phone would be locked
while driving. No notifications from Instagram, no texting, and
certainly no taking pictures of the scenery while speeding. Each of
us would encourage each other to become safer on the road rather than
embracing the thrill of danger, share the stories of those who came
before us, and not let history repeat itself in a perpetual cycle.


But
we don’t live in another world, we live in ours. Even so,
everything in that ideal world is achievable in ours, we only need to
put in the effort. Reducing driving related deaths is a group
collaboration, a task that can be easily be tackled if every driver
improves their habits and be more cautious. What are we waiting for
then?