In the Driver’s Seat – HEAVY METAL KILLERS

In the Driver’s Seat – HEAVY METAL KILLER

Four thousand pounds of heavy metal. That is the average weight of a car. If it hits you, you likely do not stand a chance. The statistics back this as currently, car crashes are the leading cause of death among young people ages 15-29.

I was in the driver’s seat on March 20, 2020 when I rear ended two older gentlemen who suddenly stopped. I hit my breaks, swerved to try and avoid them, but hit them. “How fast were you going?!” my dad yelled when he met me on the highway to pry my front bumper from their car. I was 16 and a brand new driver, having had my license only a couple of months. I walked away from that crash shaken, but thankful no one was hurt and the only issues I had was a mad dad and a beat-up front end.

Given the sickening statistics, what do we need to do to reduce the number of deaths caused by driving heavy metal killers?

A graphic, gasp-inducing, and shocking driver’s licensing program that aims to hit teens right in the feels. Mandatory driver’s education is the program backbone as studies have shown that formal driver’s ed significantly reduces crashes and traffic violations among new drivers.

Hard hitting activities included in the driver’s ed program aimed at curbing crashes and traffic fatalities would include:

1. Drivers Ed Week 1: Who do you love the most? Write his/her obituary after you kill them in a car crash

2. Drivers Ed Week 2: Watch a series of graphic videos showing car crashes due to speeding, distracted driving like texting, and driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol

3. Drivers Ed Week 3: Listen to a mother, father, brother or a sister give a speech about loosing their family member killed in a car crash

4. Drivers Ed Week 4: Visit a crash site with a memorial marker and pay tribute to the victim

5. Drivers Ed Week 5: Now that you’ve seen the deadly effects of irresponsible driving, write a promise to yourself on why and how you will become a responsible new driver

For as long as I live, I will never forget the “Just Slow Down” TV commercials I watched as a young child. They were loud and scary. The images were graphic, shocking, and POWERFUL. The campaign was effective because these commercials are stored in my memory forever. Watch a Just Slow Down commercial, I challenge you. You will gasp at the graphic images and sad endings. Teens, in the driver’s seat, need to see things like this as we all think it will never happen to us. However, it is very real. Let something else besides driving heavy metal be our number one killer. We have a lot of work to do to improve our stat.

Sources of info: madd.ca/statistics & links

Newsroom.uni.edu – Study: Driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets

Winnipeg Police Service, justslowdown.ca