Driving Towards a Safer Driving Experience

What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number deaths as a result of driving?

Education is crucial when navigating any potentially dangerous situation. Driving is no exception. I am always surprised and dismayed when I speak to drivers who seem to lack knowledge of even basic driver safety etiquette. Ensuring an informed driver is behind the wheel will be a key factor in reducing driving related deaths. Every driver should understand some of the basic truths of driving. Distracted driving significantly increases your chance of being involved in a fatal accident. Alcohol, drugs, and certain prescription medications compromise your ability to operate a vehicle. Seatbelts save lives. Speeding may shave minutes off of your commute but may also shave years off your life.

What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving?

As a Co-op Engineer for General Motors, I have the excellent opportunity to help drive road safety from a vehicle standpoint. Robust vehicle designs and increased safety features like lane departure warnings and automatic emergency braking make roads safer every day. Innovative vehicle safety features are important to keep driving related deaths to a minimum but change also has to come from a driver’s standpoint. As was mentioned above, driver education is key. Drivers need to have a healthy respect for the dangers the road presents. One way to improve driver education is to include important safety information in video form as a mandatory step in the annual vehicle registration process. Education is great but it falls short in reducing vehicle deaths if it is not paired with cultivating a safe driver culture. When a driver death occurs, it is important that the community rallies around that tragedy to promote road safety. Reinforced positive community peer pressure is as powerful a tool in reducing vehicle fatalities as any car safety features and safe driving education. These steps are crucial in reducing driving related deaths to zero.

Have you ever had an experience of being in a car accident or have you seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?

As with every car accident, there are important safety lessons to be learned with the accident I was involved in. Early in the morning, my roommate was driving the two of us to work.

As we were driving along the road, I noticed that he was approaching a red light rather quickly. I decided not to say anything to him, assuming that he had seen the light and would come to a stop before the intersection. As it turns out, he was very tired that morning and had failed to notice the light. We passed through the intersection and were T-boned by a car coming from the other direction. Thankfully no one was injured and both cars were able to pull over safely. We were fortunate that day that the accident was only a major inconvenience and a considerable financial setback for my roommate. Collisions even at low speeds can quickly become a life altering event. Living with the guilt of causing a fatality is a crushing feeling. With something so serious and life threatening as a car crash it is shameful to think about how easily that accident could have been avoided. I should have spoken up and alerted my roommate. My roommate should have told me he was drowsy and allowed me to drive. These simple communications could make all the difference in the world.

What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

At the end of the day it is your personal responsibility to keep yourself, your passengers, and the drivers around you safe. Defensive driving can prevent many dangerous situations from turning into accidents. Even if the drivers around you are driving recklessly, you can avoid accidents by driving with safety as the number one priority. Defensive driving requires experience and practice. A serious commitment to becoming a defensive driver starts with a change of perspective. As a driver you need to realize that accidents are a life altering event and nothing is worth the risk. Arriving safely is better than arriving quickly. Reckless drivers are out there, always assume the driver next to you will make a poor decision not a safe one. Defensive driving is about protecting yourself from other drivers and in doing so, protect the other drivers as well.