The Dangers of Driving: How Can We Promote Safer Driving?

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The Dangers of Driving: How Can We Promote Safer Driving?

Written by Sarah Bayne

Driving. An action taken by millions of people every day. Beginning at age fifteen, young teens can acquire a permit and drive with another adult. At sixteen, teens can drive alone. Disease, war, and kidnappings are feared daily by parents, but what most parents don’t realize is that the leading cause of death for their teens is motor vehicle crashes. Demonstrated in a journal article called Injury to Children and Teenagers: State-by-State Mortality Facts, “totals are provided for deaths related to motor vehicles and firearms, as well as homicide, suicide, and unintentional injury. Motor vehicle traffic deaths account for 37% of all injury deaths in children and teenagers. For ages 1-19, motor vehicle fatalities outrank all other injuries and diseases as the leading cause of death,” (Baker et. al., 1996). Every day, parents worry of unimaginable disasters happening to their children, however, they allow their kids to partake in the most dangerous activity for their age- driving.

Being a defensive driver is an extremely important attribute for teens and young adults to acquire before driving. Defensive driving is defined as “to defend yourself against possible collisions caused by bad drivers, drunk drivers, and poor weather,” (DriversEd.com, para 1). Defensive driving is a state of mind where drivers are constantly being aware of surroundings with the purpose of avoiding any possible crash. Unfortunately, most teens and younger adults would be deemed as reckless drivers. With mindsets of aggressive driving, and the eagerness to reach incredibly high speeds, defensive driving isn’t always attainable. Some accidents are unavoidable, making the roads an incredibly dangerous place.

A new issue within today’s generation is the development of technology. Cell phone use while driving has caused an increased number of fatal crashes over many years. According to the journal article by Dr. Seo and Dr. Torabi, “a 2003 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) survey revealed that 85% of cellphone owners use their telephones at least occasionally while driving,” (Seo & Torabi, 2004). Eighty-five percent of cell phone owners using their phone “occasionally” while driving their vehicle. This is the major issue within the teen mortality rate. Motor vehicle crashes are happening because of a preventable distraction on the road.

These statistics are hard to swallow, but also preventable. To begin, drivers ed courses have been proven to be extremely beneficial to students. Young adults are placed into this course to learn of the dangers of driving and are taught safety practices to use while on the road. These courses are so beneficial that insurance companies provide payment breaks to new drivers who complete the course. Drivers ed courses I believe would be very beneficial to bring into public high schools. Exposing students to this unfamiliar information as they begin their journey as a new driver could really decrease the desire for aggressive driving that teenagers tend to possess.

The restrictions placed on cell phone usage while driving motor vehicles are great beginner steps towards safer roads. However, many drivers don’t abide by these laws, which is clearly noted in the number of drivers who use their cell phones “occasionally” (Seo & Torabi, 2004). Therefore, another habit that every cell phone owner should have is handing the passenger their cell phone before taking off. If there is no passenger, drivers should place their phone in the middle consol or trunk of their cars. This way, the driver will be unable to access their cell phone while driving. Hypothetically, if laws like “cell phones must not be visible to the driver” are enforced, the mortality rate of teens in car accidents will decrease substantially.

Personally, I have been involved in a car accident. I remember vividly my experience as the driver with a car full of my sixteen-year-old friends. We spent the hot summer day at a swimming hole back home in Oregon. When it was time to leave, one friend of mine asked the others to put their seatbelts on. They refused so I stopped the car until everyone had clicked their seatbelt. I am still beyond grateful that my friend had mentioned the fact the others weren’t wearing their seatbelts because within ten minutes, we hit a 2010 BMW on Highway 44 going 60 miles per hour, with no time to break. This accident was emotionally draining. A car of five teenagers and a car of two parents and a young child could have been another statistic on the charts. Thankfully, not a single person was injured beyond soreness and a few bruises.

This experience is my passion for this essay. I will never loose the vivid memories I have from that accident. The sound of the vehicles colliding was like a cannon shot right beside us. The slow-motion view of my car spinning in circles and watching the windshield crumble into thousands of pieces. Feeling my hands being forcefully pushed behind my head from an airbag that I didn’t even realize exploded. And then the car stopped. Stopped spinning, and a loud ringing began in my ears as the car filled with smoke that the airbags released, and as a friend began screaming for us to get out. I immediately unbuckled my seatbelt, opened my door, and crawled out of my crumbled 1997 Volvo. I was disoriented, unaware if I had injuries, or if anyone else in my car was hurt. My initial reaction was shock. I was lost, standing in the middle of a highway with four high school friends, realizing that someone could be dead.

Thankfully, my accident was a blessing. Firefighters were two blocks from the accident, heard the crash, and arrived on scene within two minutes. No one from either car suffered serious injuries and the other driver claimed fault for the accident which saved my family from many court bills. I came out of that accident a stronger person and a more observant driver. Although I was unable to prevent the accident, I am more observant of the precautions I must take when driving or being a passenger.

To conclude, driving is extremely dangerous to partake in, however, it’s an unavoidable task that everyone is apart of at some point in their lives. Whether a passenger or a driver, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. As a driver, being defensive, enforcing seatbelts, and refraining from cell phone use is your role as the driver. As a passenger, it’s important you hold the driver accountable of these things. This will protect you and all the others in the vehicle. Unfortunately, not everyone gets as lucky as I did in my accident, however, I will spend the rest of my life thankful that the outcome wasn’t another statistic to add to the millions every year.

References

Baker, S. P., et. al., (1996). Injury to Children and Teenagers: State-by-State Mortality Facts. The National Academies of Science Engineering Medicine. Retrieved from https://trid.trb.org/view/461063

DriversEd.com. Defensive Driving Techniques. Retrieved from https://driversed.com/driving-information/defensive-driving/defensive-driving-techniques.aspx

Seo, Dong-Chul. & Torabi, Mohammad R. (2004). The Impact of In-Vehicle Cell-Phone Use on Accidents or Near-Accidents Among College Students. Journal of American College Health, 53(3), 101. Retrieved from http://xs6th8dt4r.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=DC&aulast=Seo&atitle=The+impact+of+in-vehicle+cell-phone+use+on+accidents+or+near-accidents+among+college+students&id=doi:10.3200/JACH.53.3.101-108&title=Journal+of+American+college+health&volume=53&issue=3&date=2004&spage=101&issn=0744-8481