Stop the Car, Start the Safety

Rachel Asafu-Adjaye

14 November 2020

Stop the Car, Start the Safety

In the United States, almost 36,560 people died as a result of motor vehicle crashes, and about 285,000 teens aged 13 to 19 were treated in emergency departments, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Center for Disease Control. In such an economically and educationally advanced country, these fatalities could, and can still be prevented. Driver education plays a major role in reducing the number of driving deaths, because oftentimes, driver education is only learned when a person is actively studying for their driver’s license exam, or when they are legally required to after violating the law. However, driver education should be a continuous learning experience, no matter what age a person is or how long they have maintained a driver’s license. In order to reduce these numbers of tragic deaths, a bill should be introduced to legislation that would compensate drivers for taking a government-issued driving course annually. Another step that could be taken would be to encourage safe driving practices through the use of advertisements and social media, as those are some of the most popular communication mediums in modern day society. Although not fatal, I have been in a driving accident in which a family member was driving irresponsibly, and I was injured. The driver was not practicing driving safety, as they became distracted and did not slow down in time, slamming into the back of a truck at roughly 65 miles per hour. Although all drivers and passengers involved were relatively unharmed, (with the exception of myself), this experience woke me up to the importance of safe driving education. In order for me to be a better and safer driver, I can start with simple practices, such as wearing a seatbelt and ensuring that my passengers wear a seatbelt, to continuously checking the road signs and speed limits so that I do not violate the law and endanger my passengers and other vehicles. Another major step that can be taken to reduce the number of car-accident related deaths, especially among young adults and teens, is to stop the practice of texting and driving. Although this is a problem that has been widely discussed, it should continue to be urged in schools and via social media, because these are some of young adults and teens’ easiest channels of communication. Collectively, these actions will reduce the number of driving accident related deaths and injuries.