Being Prepared: Lessons from Japan and Beyond

I
don’t think I’ve seen anyone who was as petrified as I was after
passing my permit test. My first thought walking out of the DMV
office wasn’t excitement. In fact, I told myself, “I hope I don’t
cause an accident.” From that moment forward, I realized that my
Drivers Ed hadn’t given me enough confidence to tackle the
challenges of the road. Surprisingly, the person who shared this
sentiment with me the most was someone with 40 years of
behind-the-wheel experience: my mother.

My
mom grew up in Japan, a country the size of California with three
times the population. There isn’t much room for error while driving
in a place like that, so I was curious to see how the country could
have a tenth of the traffic fatalities as the US. What I found was
that Japan has taken many measures to make the road a better place
for new drivers like me, and the best way to improve road safety is
to start good habits early.

For
instance, student and elderly drivers are required to put visible
stickers on their windshields to let others know. Such a measure in
the US would increase driver predictability, and mentally preparing
for a maneuver ahead of time is the first step in making sure that
you’re ready when a deadly accident might occur. My grandfather,
for example, got lost for hours on the road due to his failing
memory. As a result, some of his movements were erratic, but thanks
to the sticker on his car, others stayed clear. That might have saved
his (or someone else’s) life. Was he exhibiting irresponsible
behaviors? Somewhat, but there were measures to prevent danger. Even
the process of getting onto the road is more stringent. My mother had
to bring her car to a driving school facility with a model town.
There, she applied what she had learned on paper with in-person
lessons. That way, she seamlessly transferred her skills from her
head to the wheel.

After
moving to the US, my mom’s habits became more relaxed, and the main
reason was because there wasn’t the same underlying pressure on
safety. She’s fallen asleep on the freeway, and I have to remind
her to never touch her phone. We shouldn’t intimidate new drivers,
but taking small steps to increase road safety has worked wonders in
Japan. I’ve gained confidence to become more vigilant by changing
my mindset on driving, and that’s something that I wish everyone
would do to reduce fatalities. Driving is an activity where you’re
responsible for doing your best, and I’ve begun to emulate the
Japanese student driver. I test myself on the DMV manual habitually
to compensate for not immediately applying my written knowledge to
the road. I want to make sure to follow the rules that exist for
everyone’s safety, because though I personally cannot write new
traffic laws, I (and everyone else out there) can remind myself that
being prepared is the key.