Course Correction On Auto Safety

In the fall of 2017, during my senior year of high school, I was in a major car accident. Though the other driver was unharmed, I sustained multiple injuries from the event and developed PTSD. I was terrified to be in a car after the accident and ended up seeking out therapy to help.

During my treatment, my therapist and I came up with a mantra of things I do in the car that keep myself and others safe. “Look, aware, alert, signal, brake.” I would constantly repeat those words to myself. They remind me that in the car, I am always looking in my mirrors and aware of my surroundings. I am alert. I do not drive distracted or tired. I use my signal to indicate turns and lane changes, and I have my brake to help me stop safely. These reminders may seem simple enough. They are some of the most basic aspects of driving, but I found that the repetition is what kept those things in the forefront of my mind and allowed me to recognize other drivers who are safe, and to avoid those who are not.

It is unfortunate, but many people become complacent behind the wheel. Once they’ve earned their driver’s license, they forget about their safety training and feel that they’re a “safe enough” or “experienced enough” driver. As a result, they take risks or allow themselves to be distracted because they see car accidents as a distant thing. They’ve never happened to them so therefore they never could. It’s a very dangerous mindset to slip into.

That is why I propose a new requirement for maintaining a driver’s license. For the first five years after receiving a license, new drivers must take and pass a driver safety course. After then, the course would be a requirement every five years.

This course should be free and accessible to everyone, perhaps being offered at local public libraries. It could be divided into two parts. The online portion could be dedicated to reviewing traffic signs and laws, car accident statistics, what to do in the event of an emergency, and more. The driving portion would have a highly trained driving instructor who could run the students through different emergency scenarios. Students would be taught how to brake safely when driving at high speeds, how to guide the car away from collision without overcorrecting, what to do if the brakes stop working or if the car spins out on black ice, etc.

I truly believe this would be an excellent solution. If this course was required, there would be so many more safe, confident drivers behind the wheel. The number of accidents would go down as people learned how to keep themselves safe and how to avoid colliding with accidents that have already happened in front of them. So many lives could be saved, and so much heartache and pain could be avoided. As a survivor myself, I could think of nothing more wonderful than that.