Name: Hana Odawara
From: Pasadena , CA
Votes: 0
Decision Danger
I’ve had my driver’s license for a little over a year now, but I still avoid driving in the car with my mom. Even when I’m going under the speed limit at 25 mph, she is clutching the passenger door and gasping at every turn I make. While this makes her an unenjoyable passenger, her caution and recognition of the risks of driving is perhaps something we should all seek to emulate more. But how can we all be more like my mom when driving? A large part of mitigating the risks of driving is fully understanding those risks.
As a species we have a tendency to ignore the risks of driving. One of the cognitive biases that humans face is an optimism bias. We often look at a statistic and assume that we will be the percentage that isn’t negatively impacted. For example, a driver may see that according to the Washington Post, a BAC of 0.12 for a 160-pound man makes him 682 percent more likely to crash, but still assume that they won’t be the one to crash. Despite statistics, excuses are common for drivers. People will say they haven’t had that much to drink, aren’t traveling that far, aren’t feeling any of the effects, or are still really good drivers even when impaired. Yet these excuses don’t stop thousands from dying in crashes every year.
However, we can also harness the power of cognitive bias to prevent these problems. The affect heuristic makes people more susceptible to their emotions when making important decisions and the availability heuristic shows that people tend to rely on easier to remember information when making decisions. With this in mind, drivers ed should certainly still provide the driving risk statistics, but also emphasis the destruction that risky driving can have. Testimonial or images from scenarios where people were texting or drinking and driving helps engage the emotional side of our decision making. Using visuals or emphasizing one or two numbers makes it easier to remember and might make a driver reconsider their decision and call a friend or wait until they stop to look at their phone. Understanding why we make these dangerous decisions when driving is critical to preventing them.
In the meantime, I have been trying to keep myself and my friends safe. I make sure to set up any GPS or music before I leave the driveway or parking spot and I keep my phone on silent so I can’t be tempted with distraction. I make sure my friends know I will drive them if they are ever impaired, so I know they are safe. I try to check my cognitive biases and acknowledge the very real and very scary risks associated with driving. I enjoy the freedoms of being able to drive, but the most important thing at the end of the day is ensuring that I and everyone around me gets home safely.
