John, the Clairvoyant Driver

Stone Hoffmann

8/22/2020

“John, the Clairvoyant Driver”

National Driving and Traffic School

Meet John. He doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t matter. He has visions while driving that tell him when and how an imminent accident will occur. This last Sunday was crazy for him.

While at an intersection, he foresaw that a drunk driver would run a red light and cause a pileup. 10,000+ people die annually because of drunk driving. Alcohol impairs judgment, cognitive ability, vision, and more. Always drive sober or designate a sober driver, and never allow someone that you know to be drunk to drive.

John prevented the pileup by refusing to move until the drunk driver crashed into a traffic light. He then proceeded on his merry way.

Soon afterward, John foresaw his own death in a collision with a driver who was distracted because of their passengers. They were going to switch lanes without checking first or using turn signals. According to 2010 data, talking with passengers accounts for 57% of accidents—almost 4x as many accidents as texting and driving, making it the most dangerous thing to do behind the wheel.

John slowed down just as the car switched, cheating death.

It is worth mentioning that distracting things that passengers do (i.e. kids quarreling) cause an additional 7% of accidents, making passengers, in one way or another, the source of two-thirds of crashes. The driver who almost killed John was actually distracted by their son whining in the back seat. As irritating as it sounds, it was imperative that the driver find some way to keep their attention on the road, whether that be pulling over until their son calmed down or something else. One step I take to be a safer driver is that I ask my passengers to not talk to me. They can talk among themselves, but quietly. By setting an example, I believe that I can also help others be safer drivers.

Let’s step away from the story briefly. Texting while driving and drunk driving are given a lot of publicity in today’s world, but we don’t hear about distracting passengers as often—despite the fact that they’re more dangerous. This is a problem in current driver education. Proper education about safe driving is crucial: education about driving laws and safe driving habits helps prevent collisions, thus saving lives. More attention must given to educating drivers on the danger of distracting passengers.

Back to John. Later, he got a “very important” text from his girlfriend, so he pulled out his phone and thumbed through. He saw a vision that he would run a red light and collide with another car in an intersection, but brushed it off by telling himself that he would “stay aware” by frequently glancing up at the road. Surely, that would solve the problem. (This is something that one of my close family members does frequently.)

John died. He was aware of the danger, but ignored it—which makes no sense at all.

Don’t be like John. Be educated, and then actually choose to drive safe.

Works cited:

Bogage, Jacob, “This surprising activity is more dangerous than using your phone while driving”, The Washington Post, 23 Jun. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/23/there- are-more-dangerous-things-to-do-while-driving-than-using-your-phone

“Drunk Driving”, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,

www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving, accessed 9/2/2019