Personalizing Statistics: An Accident’s Impact on Me

Personalizing Statistics: An Accident’s Impact

On the eve of my twelfth birthday, my dad was late coming home from work. My mother became more and more concerned as she called his work and his buddies who he frequently drove with. When she got a call from an unknown number, she answered it and was horrified to hear a first responder introduce himself. My father was rear-ended by a sleeping driver (who was going 85 mph) while exiting the highway, sending him spinning back through the highway and eventually tangling his vehicle in the median wires. His phone was lost in the crash. Thankfully, he only suffered whiplash, but his car was totaled. When I saw the worry on my mother’s face as she learned about my father’s accident, I realized the real-life cost of irresponsible driving. It only became real when my dad’s life was endangered. 

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans under fifty-four, with someone dying every 24 seconds from an MVA. In order to combat this, the dangers surrounding driving must first be viewed as a global health epidemic. Drivers ed requires only 32 hours of education before a student earns their license. In a lifetime, the average driver will spend 37,935 hours on the road. Spending more time teaching defensive driving and pedestrian and bicyclist awareness can decrease deaths of drivers as well as those other populations. Finally, I feel the most important change to drivers ed would be required listening to a survivor of a vehicle accident. Currently, this strategy is not mandated, even though it would personalize statistics given to students. I propose that every student spend two hours talking with a survivor of an accident (whose life was forever changed because of it) in order to truly understand the terrible cost that so many face.

As I drive my car, I pledge to be the change. The change that turns statistics from increasing mortality rates every year to decreasing them. I will BE SAFE (as Michelina Hanlon coined) and advocate that other drivers in my life do the same. I will distribute statistic flyers from ASIRT and advocate that drivers ed include more defensive driving instruction, as well as testimony from accident victims. Because of my father’s accident, I have a newfound stance on the dangers of motor vehicle accidents and the impact they cause. Implementing mitigating strategies can decrease the mortality rates of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Though one person cannot solve this global issue, all that a movement needs is passion. I have that passion for change. 

Bibliography

1. Connolly, Joe. “Average Lifetime Hours an American Spends on the Road.” EverydayHealth.com, 24 Oct. 2019, www.everydayhealth.com/.

2. DriversEd.com. “How Long Does Texas Drivers Ed Take?” Answering Questions About Earning Your Driver’s License - DriversEd.com, 2020, driversed.com/texas/drivers-ed/how-long-does-texas-drivers-ed-take.aspx.

3. Hanlon, Michelina. “Driving Plan.” DmvEdu.org (Driving and Traffic School), Summer 2019, https://www.dmvedu.org/driver-education-initiative-award-summer-2019-driving-plan/.

4. NHTSA. “Statistics: Our Commitment to Serving the Public.” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2020, www.nhtsa.gov/about-nhtsa/nhtsas-core-values.

5. “Road Safety Facts.” Association for Safe International Road Travel, 2020, www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/.