Facts and Statistics aren’t Enough

What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number deaths as a result of driving? What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving? Have you ever had an experience of being in car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly? What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

Knowledge is power, that may be an overused phrase, but I firmly believe if the facts surrounding automobile deaths was used properly, extensively, and with passion that the tremendous number of horrific deaths and injuries causes by automobile accidents could be reduced. Ignoring the facts will not improve the outcomes and driver education has reduced the deaths related to Automobiles. In fact, since 2005, the number of deaths in the United States has dropped from over 40,000 deaths a year to over 30,000 a year. 30,000 deaths, although less still account for 82 deaths a day, or over 3 deaths an hour.

What can be done differently? I do not pretend to be an expert, but If part of drivers’ education included not just the statistics but include processes that make those statistics live for the student then maybe, just maybe the inspiration to use the knowledge of why these deaths occur and what can be done to be a better driver will be strong enough for the student to truly become a better driver.

What do I mean by making the information “live” for the student? Well, if you started by having the student visualize and verbalize what their life would be without their Mother, Father, Friend or Spouse then maybe that feeling would be inspiration enough to learn and practice the best advice to becoming a better driver. What could be even more powerful is for the student to visualize and possibly verbalize how they envision the world would be like if they were the one who passed away. How sad would your parents be, how would their loved ones react at the accident site, the morgue or at the funeral? How would their life’s goals or dreams be ruined? how would their children be raised? What would happen if you caused the death or a stranger or a friend? I know this type of education tactic would be controversial, but the small bit of discomfort initially would definitely be less uncomfortable than dealing with a death or numerous deaths later. I could detail the deaths by cause such as drinking and driving, texting and driving, or driving during inclement weather, but if you don’t mentally tie those activities to the pain and suffering that would occur then the statistics may be as unmoving as batting averages or win loss percentages for any sport rather than information that if taken seriously could prevent a catastrophic family event.

I have not personally been in a car accident, but my girlfriend and my father were both in horrific accidents and my grandfather died in a car accident. In these examples in at least 2 of these situations, some form of education could have prevented each of these accidents. I saw the pain of my father and he lives with the disfigurement from the result of his accident to this day. These personal stories are ones that help me want to be a better driver for myself and for my family. If I didn’t see and hear the stories first hand they would not be as real for me and might not inspire me as much to be a better driver.

Who knows if I would have had the same incentive to be a better driver if I didn’t have first-hand knowledge of these incidents?

What if instead of seeing and hearing first-hand what car accidents can do to the people I love the most, I instead imagined and tried to realize that these death statistics are not just numbers, but are real people and could very well be my loved ones? If I truly care about these people and was truly forced to think about what would happen if they were hurt in an automobile incident then maybe I would have a similar incentive to drive better as I do now without having to have people that are close to me be hurt and the source of the information that moves me to be a better driver.

The steps that I can take to be a better and safer driver will be to ensure I use the realization that these accidents I have talked about can happen to me and my family and I will be a smarter and safer driver which would include using hands free technology if I am to talk on the phone while driving, not text and drive, not to drink and drive and ensure I avoid having too many teenagers in the car, prevent driving recklessly, and avoid driving in inclement conditions if at all possible.

The steps that I will take to help others be better drivers is to not just remind them of the aforementioned risky driving behaviors to avoid but add the personal hypothetical scenarios that would have the best impact for each of the people that I want to help become a better driver. I hope that by using the personal stories from my own life and making these stories “live” for my target audience that I can do just a very small part to help improve the safety on our roads.