It’s crazy to think that something that was once meticulous and nerve-wracking became a second-nature skill. I remember the first couple of times I got behind the wheel, I was overwhelmed and struggled with the precision and order of multitasking; there were so many things to be aware of, to do, to think of, and to predict. I could never remember whether to flip the blinker up or down to turn left or right, which way to turn my wheel when fixing my parallel parking, or who had the right of way at an intersection. However, at some point, after attending driver education and logging down hours and hours of practice, it all became automatic. I didn’t have to think about changing lanes, reverse parking, or maneuvering around a tight parking lot. I didn’t have to think about it. I became so confident in my abilities that I began to think I could drive with one hand, text on my phone, and even eat while driving.
While I never experienced a car accident, I realized the risks of my reckless behavior when I almost rear-ended someone because I was belting out and looking down at the lyrics to Disillusioned by Daniel Caesar. The inching traffic of an early-morning weekday prompted the car in front of me to suddenly stop, causing me to slam on my brakes at the last minute–stopping a hair’s breadth away from their bumper. Consequently, the truck behind me partially swerved to the shoulder lane to avoid slamming into me head-on. After such a humbling experience, I realized the very real and serious dangers of distracted driving and the domino effect it can have on the people around me. I was not only a hazard to myself, but also to everyone else on the road.
With myself as a prime example, most students in driver education are teenagers and young adults who often take for granted the ability to drive. Nonetheless, this doesn’t undermine the crucial role driver education plays in reducing the number of car accidents and deaths. Driver education still hones fundamental skills, instills responsible behavior, and informs new drivers of the rules and risks of the road. Most importantly, it reinforces safe driving practices and defensive driving behaviors early on to ensure new drivers continue to follow them as they get more comfortable behind the wheel. For instance, one thing my driving school instructor mentioned that stuck with me is: “Driving is a privilege.” This made me realize that a car is a weapon, and if used irresponsibly and recklessly, you, as the driver, can harm and even kill another person. Despite all these warnings and the improved knowledge of road safety, most teenagers throw all the textbook information out the window once they receive the sweet freedom of a driver’s license.
Therefore, to improve the effectiveness of driver education and reduce the growing number of car-related deaths, parents should become more involved in modeling safe driving behaviors, and more interactive activities should become embedded in the classroom. Parents and adult guardians are the most prominent people in a person’s life, and kids learn and imitate what their parents do. Thus, safe-driving campaigns should not only target youth but also parents to get them involved in driver education. By modeling safe driving practices, specifically not using phones while driving, their children will take distracted driving more seriously. Additionally, simulating distracted driving in driver education with interactive activities and lessons can help emphasize the dangers of distracted driving, and therefore, reduce the number of car accidents. This could include games that ask students to respond to text messages while looking out for road signs and keeping track of how many signs they get correct. Such activities can demonstrate how easily you can miss a sign, person, or object, reinforcing the importance of maintaining full attention when behind the wheel.
Furthermore, instructors can encourage students to activate the “Driving Do Not Disturb" feature on their phones to automatically turn on when their phone detects them in a moving vehicle. This setting makes it harder for drivers to unlock their phones and silences notifications to minimize distractions and discourage phone use. Personally, this feature helps me put down my phone whenever I have the urge to pick it up, especially when bored at stoplights. I can also tell my friends and family about the driving feature on their phones to help them become safer drivers. Furthermore, if I really need to text someone or check my phone and I have a passenger with me, I can ask them to do it for me instead. Also, I can make it a point to set up my Bluetooth music or radio before pulling out of my parking spot so I don’t feel inclined to fiddle with it while driving.
In short, creating safer roads is a community effort. It involves ensuring new and experienced drivers are more aware of the severity of distracted and impaired driving and the alarming statistics of car-related deaths. From reforming driver education to being more engaging to being a safer and more consistent role model for children and peers, we are one step closer to minimizing the preventable human error that kills more than war.