Driver education is vital to the reduction of vehicular deaths predominately because if information remains unknown, unregulated, or hard to access, it will never be helpful in preventative aspects. Roadways are becoming increasingly dangerous, which is terrifying considering how much time most of us spend on them. I spend 40 hours a month traveling along a highway while commuting, not including shopping, business, or personal ventures.
I chose this scholarship to apply for because, for the last 4 years, I’ve been telling my friends and family how scared I am that I’ll likely die in a vehicular accident due in large part to the growing aggression and inattention of our local drivers. Without exaggeration, it’s every time I am on the highway that traffic laws are mindlessly or intentionally violated, that hostile actions are taken, or that preventable accidents occur.
A shining example is the day of writing this essay. I was driving on a 4-lane divided with a median. I was cruising at speed-limit (45 MPH) in the right-lane when I noticed a vehicle from opposing traffic waiting in a turn lane. In the time it took me to notice the truck, an SUV had broken in front of the flow of traffic well behind me and had raced up directly behind me. If I slowed, I’d be rear-ended.
As the SUV jerked around me into the left-lane, the truck jutted from its idling spot to make a wide, illegal U-turn, revealing a long, attached trailer. Thankfully, the SUV was no longer right on my tail, and I was able to slow with no worries. However, the SUV had been going so much faster than me that it had to swerve to avoid hitting the trailer on the truck. Neither vehicle stopped. It was just another near miss, no one was hurt so there was nothing to worry about—except 3 people, me included, could have easily not made it home today if any given thing had gone wrong.
Affordable and accessible public transit is another huge factor, in my opinion, to safer roadways. There are many people who drive purely because there aren’t any better options but who shouldn’t be behind the wheel themselves. Taxis, Ubers, and Lifts are expensive, often inaccessible, and present their own intimate dangers. Walking is nearly impossible where sidewalks are nonexistent, and highways typically prohibit walkers. Yet, when I lived in a town with access to a public transit system, many people didn’t have cars or only used them if they were going out of the city.
Other factors to safety on the road are proper roadway maintenance and lighting. Where I live, potholes riddle the streets and highways. This causes drivers to suddenly slow down or swerve to avoid expensive damage to their vehicles. We also have few streetlights, making it harder to see animals at night. In the greater area of my state, deer cause approximately 18 deaths and 124 serious injuries a year.
I currently am enrolled in a program where I install a device into my vehicle, and it tracks things like hard brakes and quick accelerations. I would like to see similar technology utilized for 6-month increments upon completion of driving tests with our youths, as well as for a 6-month period preceding license renewals for adults. I’ve known multiple people whose driving improved if only for the duration of their similar programs, and I believe the technology paired with such temporary governance would have a favorable result.
Driving tests should also be required before license renewal is granted. I received my first license when I was 17. I’m nearly 33 and have yet been required to take another driving test, despite moving states several times. This lapse, if one is not active in continuing one's driving education, can lead to large numbers of drivers who are operating on old and invalid instructions or laws. When any given person on the road with you may be working under different sets of instructions and laws, that leaves too much room for potentially fatal errors. Human libraries and statistics for what causes the most deaths a year in your city are other great resources to attempt to bring down traffic mortality rates.
I was a passenger in a few minor car accidents growing up, as well as witnessing accidents over the years. Approximately 6 years ago, I was in my first road accident after having just moved to the Midwest, but I was no stranger to driving on ice and snow. I’d slid before, but I’d always been able to get my vehicle under control. During my accident, I’d already been driving under the speed limit due to the weather conditions, and I saw the light at the intersection change to yellow with plenty of time to slow to a measured stop.
With just a few feet between my front bumper and the crosswalk lines, I gently applied enough pressure on the brakes to come to a full stop. That was all it took to fishtail my car’s rearend until I was exactly sideways in my lane. My car wasn’t touching any of the vehicles that surrounded me, but the poor woman I faced screamed when she looked over and saw me, panicked. It was the luckiest accident I could have found myself in, but it’s always stuck with me that you can do everything within your power to stay safe, but as long as external factors exist, your safety will remain fully out of your control.
This, among many other reasons, is why I already take every precaution I can while driving. I’m not a perfect driver, and I don’t believe there is such a person. We each can still do our parts better with a little effort, care, and consideration. I want to make it home at the end of the day. I want everyone else to make it home at the end of the day, too. It’s frustrating and a shame that few people want to have these incredibly important conversations that could easily save someone’s life. I’ve implemented my own initiative where I use opportunities to address these issues to my community, but it rarely goes over well. While I’m currently not making headway on helping others to drive safely, my hope is that safe driving education is taken more seriously before more people end up in their grave rather than their bed.