My Nana was supposed to pick me up from school that day. But when I got off the bus, my mom was the one in the driver’s seat. In the back was my terrified younger sister and in the passenger’s seat was my shaken grandmother. The car was filled with my Nana’s things and it was clear that the car I spent many days of my childhood in was gone. My sister, Natalia, called 911 for the first time that day
Drivers education is more than teaching a person how to maneuver the brakes and the art of parallel parking. It is about keeping people alive. 34,000 people die every year due to driving. That’s 34,000 moms, dads, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, daughters, sons, grandmothers, and grandfathers. That’s countless families being ripped apart due to mistakes that could’ve been prevented. Innocent people are dying on the way to their workplace or birthday parties. My Nana’s car accident wasn’t the result of poor education but so many accidents are. Her accident shows the aftermath of these traumatic events. My sister’s fears lasted past that day. My Nana had to be checked for injuries. So many others don’t make it out of those accidents alive.
A fifteen-year-old, who’s biggest problems are their final exam grades and their Instagram likes. Data shows, a human’s frontal lobe doesn’t develop until they are around twenty-five years old. These same fifteen and sixteen year-olds who are not fully capable of making decisions are on the road. My Dad once described to me how his high school included driving lessons as part of the curriculum. Drivers education plays a vital role in ensuring the citizens in a state are adhering to the rules of the road. It allows for a set of rules and regulations that ensure drivers are following guidelines to follow the road parameters. It often provides experience, as a student may get the opportunity to drive with a driving instructor who has a brake pedal on their side. It provides a number of directions ensuring students differentiate between “right” and “wrong” while on the road. To reduce the number of deaths, it is important to have consistent and repeated driving education so people are always prepared.
Every four years. That’s how often drivers should be retested for their license. While this may seem annoying, consistent retesting would ensure drivers aren’t making any mistakes while on the road. This would reduce deaths and sharpen people’s abilities on the road. Spaced repetition is the term used in education for reviewing over a few days. Instead of cramming before a test, students practice over and over. The information is cemented in their brains. This is the same method that can be used with drivers education. By retesting more frequently, not just the written portion but the portion on the roads too, people will have sharper driving skills while on the road. I also believe that by having community events to promote safe driving and driving education, we can reduce deaths on the road. We could have statistics that show people in the communities the unfortunate number of deaths due to car accidents. Additionally, by inviting young teenagers who are preparing to drive, we can place emphasis on how a car is not a right but a privilege. Information on the importance of not driving under the influence, not driving with friends in the car, and always taking proper precautions on the road, can enlighten young people who are preparing to drive. This is one step that could ensure more people become safe on the road–thus reducing deaths due to driving. With my experiences in food allergy advocacy, I’ve recognized that empathy allows people to take action. Once a person understands the challenges another person is going through, they have compassion and want to make a change. When I share a story about a child with food allergies to a classroom of kids, they connect with the fact that the child may be the same age as them, play the same sports, or have the same color hair. The connection builds empathy that then springs into action to prevent the situation whether it is food allergy bullying or anaphylactic shock. In the same way, stories about people who have died in car accidents could make a huge difference in promoting safety on the road, especially with young drivers.
To become a better driver, I want to make sure I don’t get complacent with my driving in order to always drive as if I am still just learning. If everyone drove like they were being tested, then there would be fewer accidents. While I’ve been lucky to never witness my friends or family members driving irresponsibly, my family has always been worried about the many people on the road who are not as responsible. Even as a senior in high school, I don’t drive with friends because it isn’t just them that could be a concern but the rest of the world. We cannot control the other millions of people on the road. However, there are ways to make a change. These changes start with more driving tests, community events that share statistics, and advocacy about this issue. When I think about driving accidents, I think about that young girl on the phone with 911, scared. I think about those people who have lost their lives. We can and must make a change.