Scare tactics do work.

Scare tactics do work.

Turning 17 in the South-West of England, where small villages, countryside and insufficient public transport links are widespread. Those with birthdays at the start of the school year would hastily learn to drive, scrape a pass and proceed to squash way too many people in their small second, third, fourth, fifth-hand car, whether it be to drive to McDonalds, to a party, to school. The freedom that came with learning to drive was pushed to the limits of the law and what was safe due to a lack of both education and sufficient infrastructure within the local community, when it comes to young people and public transport.

I have known people who have driven back from parties under the influence of drugs, but would not even dream of driving drunk. Luckily, these people didn’t crash or cause injury, but there are many that do. Education into drug-driving, as well as drink-driving in schools should be mandatory, in order to attempt to reduce the number of driving-related-deaths. In the UK, once you receive your licence in your late teens, you do not have to be re-assessed until you’re 70. Education in the form of practical lessons could be reinforced, perhaps at an interval of 5/10 years to maintain a level of safety to those on the road. Even online courses could be implemented to assess theoretical driving education levels.

Deaths due to driving accidents can not be entirely avoided, miscalculations and mistakes are made. However, I believe many deaths could be avoided, with the introduction of reassessment, practical lessons after a license has been obtained, education within schools relating to safe driving in all aspects: drunk driving, drug driving, driving with others in the car, driving in wet/icy conditions, driving without using a phone, even guidance relating to driving with music at a volume quiet enough to not disrupt one’s ability to hear oncoming traffic/ danger could be useful. Scare tactics do work, shown by the apprehensiveness of almost all UK teenagers to drive whilst drunk. Even as young as primary school, we were told about the effects of drunk driving, and as we progressed into secondary, visually shown what could happen. Such education should be extended to the list stated above and promoted regularly in order to reduce the number of avoidable deaths related to driving.