Protecting Yourself and Others on the Road: The Importance of Being an Educated Driver.

Access to motor vehicles can be a blessing in disguise. It comes with many responsibilities. Learning to drive and operate a vehicle is viewed as a simple task, but driving is more complicated than some people presume it to be. Operating a vehicle entails multiple accountabilities like alertness, understanding traffic symbols and signs, navigating, and being courteous to others. Freedom of personal transportation is one of our country’s greatest privileges. With that freedom comes a responsibility to become educated on operating a motor vehicle and always practicing safe driving. Drivers staying educated will reduce the number of annual fatalities from car accidents and keep citizens safer on the roads.

In 2021, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 42,915 people lost their lives due to car accidents (NHTSA 2022). The lives cut short by these vehicle accidents were preventable. Whether due to reckless driving, not wearing a seatbelt, or distracted driving, the deaths could have been avoided if proper driving education had been possessed. The increasing number of annual deaths due to car accidents is not a new issue. This crisis has been an ongoing problem around the United States for years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car accidents are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for individuals ages 1-44 (CDC 2020). This is a problem that U.S. citizens and government officials cannot continue to overlook.

Firstly, Driver’s Training should be a requirement to receive a license in any state. For example, presently in Alaska, people can obtain a driver’s license without taking any course about safe driving. This is quite ironic considering how dangerous the roads are in Alaska due to the severe weather. Nevertheless, driver’s education should be mandatory regardless of where an individual lives in order to educate driver’s on how to stay focused while driving and not get distracted.

There are a considerable amount of distractions a person operating a vehicle can bear. Some distractions include looking at a mobile device, eating, grooming, or talking to another passenger. These diversions are all taught in most driver’s education courses and can be easily avoided. The most common distraction is related to mobile devices such as texting, talking on the phone, or using navigation systems (CDC 2022). Most drivers believe they can multi-task and send a text to their friend or family member while operating a vehicle, however, compelling one’s attention away from the road in any circumstance can result in deadly accidents. This is due to the small amount of time it takes for drivers to make unintentional mistakes. These accidents can be prevented by putting one’s phone on a driving or do not disturb setting. Doing this will cause messages to not go through, therefore not tempting the driver to look at their phone. Taking little precautions can save lives of others driving around other cars as well as the driver and passengers. Additionally, further precautions need to be taken to protect drivers and passengers such as wearing a seatlbelt.

Several deaths and severe injuries due to car accidents could be prevented by wearing a seatbelt. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assessed that wearing a seatbelt lessens the chance of fatality of the driver by 45% and the front seat passenger by 50% (NHTSA 2020). This is a significant and notably simple precaution individuals entering a motor vehicle can take that reduces their risk of death substantially. Deciding to not wear a seatbelt can put someone at high risk for being thrown out of the vehicle, usually resulting in death. Additonally, it can put someone at risk for traumatic brain, facial and bone damage. The importance of wearing seatbelts is not emphasized enough. Admittedly, there are signs on certain roads that remind drivers to buckle up, yet there should be more advertisements about this precaution. Ingraining the significance of seatbelts into driver’s minds will persuade them to simply put their seatbelt on to protect themselves.

I know several people who have been in numerous car accidents, but I have only been in one car accident in my life. In Alaska, I was driving on a cold winter day when the roads are dreadfully dangerous. I was slowing down to make a right turn and I immediately noticed the cars in front of beginning to slide sideways. Within seconds I saw the cars collide in the intersection. Reacting quickly, I stopped my turn and continued straight to not clash in the eventual pileup. After continuing straight, I thought I was in the clear, but instantly I was forcefully rear-ended. This was such an unfamiliar feeling that at first I did not know how to react, but remembered from driver’s education and my parents to access if I was injured and my car was still driveable. After a few moments of accessing the situation, I pulled into a near parking lot to fully access the damage. Luckily, I was uninjured and so was the person who hit me. This accident could of been avoided if the drivers and I adapted to the bad conditions and came to a stop sooner. In the driver’s education course, I learned that while driving on icy roads I need to leave eight to ten seconds distance between me and the car in front of me. None of the cars involved followed this rule. This instance reminded me how important it is to adapt to winter driving conditions and pay more close attention.

Relentlessly assembling all of these precautions and requirements to obtain a driver’s license will reduce the amount of accidents that take multiple lives every year. Driver’s education courses are established as a bother or nuisance. However, having the privilege to operate a motor vehicle should come with acquiring the necessary instruction. Obtaining education on safe and undistracted driving will greatly reduce the amount of car accidents because drivers will know how to safely manage a car and protect themselves within that automobile. Deaths due to car accidents has been too common of an issue in the United States and working together as a nation to stress the importance of practicing and understanding safe driving must be accomplished.