Driver education is so important because in most cases the difference between a stupid decision and saving a life is having the skills and knowledge to know how to respond in dangerous situations. Right before I met my husband he was involved in a car accident where he was t-boned because another driver tried to shoot a gap that wasn’t safe to shoot. The other driver couldn’t see my husband coming and just sped up and directly hit him. The impact knocked my husband's sunglasses out his open car window and completely totaled his car. Thankfully both drivers were fine and suffered no serious injuries, but I often think about this and shudder imagining what could have happened. The other driver wasn’t thinking- was likely in a rush to get somewhere- and decided to turn left over multiple lanes of traffic when he couldn’t see one of them. A silly and small decision, but it had a big impact on someone else, in this case my future husband.
Driver education is about teaching drivers how to drive responsibly and safely. This means avoiding risks that don’t need to be taken, knowing the rules of the road, and continually refreshing and improving driving skills. Because people are dying each year from car accidents, this is the responsibility of every youth and adult who can drive. We have a responsibility to protect each other, and the best way to do that is make sure we all receive and maintain enough education to know how to and be able to safely drive.
My husband’s car accident has made me think a lot about how we can improve and create safer driving experiences for everyone. One of the biggest steps that I want to continually focus on and encourage others to as well is limiting distractions while driving. This includes texting, calling, but sometimes even just listening to loud music. We have to be careful when driving that something small and insignificant on our phones doesn’t lead to a tragedy for someone else. Another step, that in my husband’s case would have prevented an accident, is being completely aware and alert when driving. No one’s safety is ever worth saving three seconds on your drive somewhere. So be totally aware and alert, and don’t make decisions that are risky, even if they might save you a few seconds. Along with this, it means that we need to avoid driving aggressively. It isn’t worth tailgating because someone is driving slow, or speeding around someone and cutting off someone in another lane. Driving responsibly means that other people’s safety (and your own) is more important than making sure you always go five over the speed limit.
We all have a responsibility to be a part of this, because we all have a responsibility to take care of those around us. This means monitoring your own use of phones and distractions on the road, as well as helping to monitor others. If you have friends or family who drive distracted, tell them. Something I often do is if someone is being distracted by a phone or changing the music I will offer to do the task for them. Then they can focus on driving.
When I was in high school my sister and I were in a minor car accident because she was distracted trying to take a photo. We rear ended the people in front of us because she didn’t see them in time to stop. This was a super minor car accident, and yet I remember as a high schooler being really shaken up. It was the first time that I realized that something like a car accident could happen to me. I wasn’t invincible or immune to the effects of irresponsible driving. I think sometimes we can feel that way until a car accident happens to us or someone we love. Then we realize that this is a real concern. But I don’t think we have to wait for a car accident to hurt us or someone else. Let’s start before tragedy strikes to improve our own driving awareness and education, as well as others.
When we truly realize how many lives are being lost in car accidents each year, we can see that increasing awareness, as well as driving education, is essential. Too many people have died or been seriously hurt because of distractions, anger, and just simple stupidity. I plan to continue to improve my own driving by avoiding distractions, and helping others to do the same. I invite you to take steps to be better too. Look at your driving: are you an aggressive driver? Do you take unnecessary risks? Are you often distracted? Evaluate your driving so that you can find where to be better. And then do it. Do your part to help save others on the road.