Did you know that in 2019 the United States had the most motor-vehicle deaths in the world? With shocking data such as this, why haven’t Americans taken more procedures to drive safely? The easiest and simplest way to reduce these numbers is to look around before getting into the car, put on your seatbelt, adjust your seat before turning on the car, and implement a scanning pattern to raise awareness of surroundings. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA), almost 15,000 people who were involved in a motor vehicle accident survived by simply wearing a seatbelt. Research also shows that since 1917 over 374,000 people survived a motor-vehicle accident by simply wearing a seatbelt. I was one of those lives that were saved.
On a warm summer evening, I received an unexpected call from my friend, Justin. “I got the car mann!” he exclaimed, breathlessly. Before I could comprehend what, he meant, there was a knock at my door. “Put on your shoes, we are about to go crussin ” he said, pointing his new SRT challenger car-keys in my face. We spent the next hour trying to test out the car. At an intersection Justin was making a left turn when I heard a loud “thump” sound on the door. He angrily shouted, “they crashed into my babyyy!”. Trying to comprehend what had just happened my heart was beating faster than the flash could run. The world was spinning, everything seemed blurry until the iconic siren sounds drew closer to our location.” That was a hard hit” an officer said, “it's a good thing you had your seatbelt on.” This experience taught me that although it’s nice to have cool looking cars, it's just as important to make sure you are safe when you ride in them.
A few years later, I had the opportunity to take a driving course at East High School. I learned that although putting on your seatbelt is important, there are other safety precautions you can take to assure the safety of you and your passengers. For example, I learned safety on the road starts before you even enter the car. I learned to scan the surroundings of the car before entering just in case there is a child or broken glass around the wheels. I learned to put on your seatbelt and adjust the seat belt before turning on the car. Finally, research shows that looking away from the road for more than two seconds will increase chances of getting in an accident. “Scanning is like a book, you do it from left to right” says an online course taken along drivers ed to help students make smart decisions on the road.
Drivers education teaches, to look forward for 4 seconds then to your left mirror for two seconds. Then back to the front for four seconds followed by a gauge check for at least two seconds. After the four seconds of looking forward is up, you check your center mirror for 2 seconds, then you avert your gaze back to the front for four more seconds, your look at your right mirror for 2 seconds and revert your sight to the front, thus completing the scan. But this has to be done repeatedly! This is done to “point out hotspots”. Hot spots are anything that makes your driving environment unsafe, like a pedestrian crossing the street, a car following too close or a biker riding in the cycle lane. It is imperative that we include this scan in our daily driving because it is by small and simple things that great things, such as reducing the fatality rate, are accomplished.
So, why is driving education important? Some people may believe that there is no correlation (to fatality rate) between students who take drivers ed and students who don’t take drivers ed. This is wrong because drivers ed teaches students how to react in hazardous situations. Taking driver ed makes students more capable and less prone to making mistakes behind the wheel in various settings. This shows that taking drivers education is important because it helps inexperienced drivers learn how to react in hazardous situations like harsh weather and emergencies.
The best way to implement these habits in our young drivers is through example. When kids see their parents pick up a phone while driving, the chances of that kid picking up his or her phone when they're behind the wheel is high. However, if we taught them simple habits like looking around before getting into the car, putting on your seat belt and adjusting your seat before turning on the car, or a simple scan pattern, we can reduce the fatality rate every single year!