The Effect of a Parent Driver

I sat inside cars that swerved on highways and smashed on brake pedals since my time in Mimi, my booster seat. Behind the wheel was an emotionally volatile father, who, in a rage, did not notice a red light and sped through an intersection, narrowly missing a disabled man crossing the street. I do not know how many fatal car accidents our silver Rav4 missed, but I do know the example parents set is substantial. Research suggests that parents who exhibit reckless driving habits like speeding or texting while driving, produce children who are equally irresponsible drivers.

I am a part of this statistic.

My father often drove in fits of fury. Driving angry increases your chances of crashing by almost tenfold, something every driver learns in their drivers education courses. But since I grew up with emotional driving and consequently speeding as a norm, I ignored this fact as an exaggeration.

I crashed my car in March of my junior year.

I was upset. I was sobbing and driving. I turned too fast, lost control, and collided into a fence. I crashed because I thought crying and driving was okay because if my dad did it, I could too.

Knowing the power you hold while driving is essential to road safety. Drivers education courses help reinforce the idea that reckless action can result in serious injury. But online modules preaching statistics on crashes due to speeding, emotional driving, or texting while driving lose impact if parents, a child’s primary role model, contradicts the information taught in those courses.

Studies show young drivers who complete drivers ed courses are 75% less likely to get a ticket, 24% less likely to be in a fatal or injury accident, and 16% less likely to have an accident. These statistics only apply when students concentrate on their education courses. In my case, because the actions of my parents invalidated the lessons in my drivers education courses, I did not focus on the information provided, effectively learning little to nothing.

To remedy this, I propose mandatory refresher drivers ed courses to remind adults, specifically parents, the importance of practicing safe driving habits. Parents exhibit reckless driving behavior because they have forgotten the potential consequences of their actions. If re-education courses were required, we could remind parents to set good examples for the next generation of drivers.

When operating a vehicle, we hold the lives of others in our hands. To not require re-education courses for such a dangerous act goes against common sense. We see compulsory re-education courses for doctors with re-licensing to ensure the lives doctors are responsible for are safe. Constructions workers that operate heavy machinery are required to complete re-education courses on the same premise, to ensure safety. In all cases where a person has the potential of injuring life, re-education courses exist as a necessity - except for drivers. The steps we need to take to make everyone a better driver and keep our roads safe is through continued education.