Personalizing Statistics: An Accident’s Impact on Me

Personalizing
Statistics: An Accident’s Impact

On
the eve of my twelfth birthday, my dad was late coming home from
work. My mother became more and more concerned as she called his work
and his buddies who he frequently drove with. When she got a call
from an unknown number, she answered it and was horrified to hear a
first responder introduce himself. My father was rear-ended by a
sleeping driver (who was going 85 mph) while exiting the highway,
sending him spinning back through the highway and eventually tangling
his vehicle in the median wires. His phone was lost in the crash.
Thankfully, he only suffered whiplash, but his car was totaled. When
I saw the worry on my mother’s face as she learned about my
father’s accident, I realized the real-life cost of irresponsible
driving. It only became real when my dad’s life was endangered. 

Motor
vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans under
fifty-four, with someone dying every 24 seconds from an MVA. In order
to combat this, the dangers surrounding driving must first be viewed
as a global health epidemic. Drivers ed requires only 32
hours of education before a student earns their license. In a
lifetime, the average driver will spend 37,935 hours on the road.
Spending more time teaching defensive driving and pedestrian and
bicyclist awareness can decrease deaths of drivers as well as those
other populations. Finally, I feel the most important change to
drivers ed would be required listening to a survivor of a
vehicle accident. Currently, this strategy is not mandated, even
though it would personalize statistics given to students. I propose
that every student spend two hours talking with a survivor of an
accident (whose life was forever changed because of it) in order to
truly understand the terrible cost that so many face.

As
I drive my car, I pledge to be the change. The change that turns
statistics from increasing mortality rates every year to decreasing
them. I will BE SAFE (as Michelina Hanlon coined) and advocate that
other drivers in my life do the same. I will distribute statistic
flyers from ASIRT and advocate that drivers ed include more
defensive driving instruction, as well as testimony from accident
victims. Because of my father’s accident, I have a newfound stance
on the dangers of motor vehicle accidents and the impact they cause.
Implementing mitigating strategies can decrease the mortality rates
of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Though one person cannot
solve this global issue, all that a movement needs is passion. I have
that passion for change. 

Bibliography

1. Connolly,
   Joe. “Average Lifetime Hours an American Spends on the Road.”
   EverydayHealth.com, 24 Oct. 2019, www.everydayhealth.com/.

2. DriversEd.com.
   “How Long Does Texas Drivers Ed Take?” Answering Questions About
   Earning Your Driver’s License – DriversEd.com, 2020,
   driversed.com/texas/drivers-ed/how-long-does-texas-drivers-ed-take.aspx.

3. Hanlon,
   Michelina. “Driving Plan.” DmvEdu.org (Driving and Traffic
   School), Summer 2019,
   https://www.dmvedu.org/driver-education-initiative-award-summer-2019-driving-plan/.

4. NHTSA.
   “Statistics: Our Commitment to Serving the Public.” National
   Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of
   Transportation, 2020, www.nhtsa.gov/about-nhtsa/nhtsas-core-values.

5. “Road
   Safety Facts.” Association for Safe International Road Travel,
   2020, www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/.