Driver safety is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people. Even with the many horror stories people still do not take this topic seriously enough even though their lives are on the line. Whether this is due to the growing devaluing of life or the adrenaline rush of almost dying this issue is only growing as time goes on. If we were more strict with driving safety in our county and taught that life is a gift not to be taken lightly I believe that most of these issues would be resolved. Our country will become a safer place when drivers start taking this seriously.
If drivers would take the time to go over the driving guidelines or if they were made to take the test you have to take when you get a permit every few years and a driving test then our roads would become safer. I think that this would keep many unsafe drivers from being able to drive until they took the time to learn the material again. Getting a driver's license is often more difficult in other countries and more strict with the testing. I believe that this attitude towards getting a license is justified as it keeps those who would likely be the cause of an accident off the road. Some drivers also seem to have a general distaste for their own life more than ever before. If we offered more accessible counseling for the general public then this issue might lessen and we may see a decrease in MDD within our population.
In my own life, I have experienced unsafe driving and have family who have been dealt the consequences. I cannot drive myself even though I am 18 due to seizures that cannot be medicated due to how much of a medical mystery they are to my doctor. This leads me to being forced to rely on others around me for anywhere I need to go or to any extracurriculars I am a part of. At one point I trusted my grandmother with driving me and my brothers but due to her age and current condition, her awareness has deteriorated. She had been driving in the middle of the road, driving into ditches, going above the speed limit, and almost hitting people multiple times in one car ride. When we got home I was shaking from how scared I had gotten from the concept that I had been so close to death. Now we don't allow her to drive anymore due to this day. One of my family members had also become mentally deficient due to injury from unsafe driving practices. He and his friends had been driving and cutting up but did not have their seatbelts on in the jeep or the doors attached to the vehicle. They had gotten into a collision and he got flung out of the jeep from the impact. This injury horribly affected his brain and ability to move and now he is in a wheelchair and barely able to talk. His mother and father who are now in their late 80’s have him under their care due to his deficiencies.
We can start to enforce harder testing and stricter rules for divers. We can also bring early learning into the schools and bring back driver’s ed. courses in all schools. This would help the students to learn about road safety for at least an entire year and have it be taught to then by a teacher instead of having to teach themselves by a manual. People who take the test at home are also more likely to cheat on any driver's test with the rise of AI. Driver tests should start to have video recording when you take the test just for extra precaution that there is no cheating during the test. We should also have counseling or therapy more accessible to the general public. Often times those who participate in reckless driving do so due to feeling like their life has no value or purpose. This is sometimes done with the purpose of indirect suicide by those who just want their life to be over. Counseling or therapy could be a way to decrease the amount of people who feel this way and get them the help that they need. I stay safe driving by keeping myself off the road. When I was using my permit to practice driving my seizures started up. I had to go to the neurologist who told me to stay off the road himself. Following the doctors order has kept me and my family safe as if I had a seizure behind the wheel I could kill someone without knowing it. Staying safe while on the road should be more of a priority for anyone who plans to be on the road at any capacity even a passenger.