Safety and the Car: A Guide to Safe Driving

Driving is an activity most Americans do every day of their adult lives. It’s safe, reliable, and easy, right? Yes and no. Reliability and ease of use are both very true for cars, but they are not as safe as they could be. This is largely attributed to human error rather than the cars themselves. When people first learn to drive they are very young, between 14 and 18, this age group is the most likely to perform risky behavior and cause injury or death. This is partially due to their inexperience and also their general immaturity as people. One step to prevent this would be to up the legal driving age to 25 (When humans reach full mental maturity). Another would be to improve education standards amongst drivers. In California, a person can finish drivers ed and acquire a learners permit with as little as 30 hours of experience. This is not enough. Driving is a skill acquired through learning and experience, it should be treated as seriously as a college course. There should be a minimum of 12 weeks of training to properly teach people how to drive safely. However, no matter how much training someone is given, circumstances can push them to be irresponsible. I myself have witnessed my family running red lights or going past the speed limit while in a rush. It’s very common. Even though statistics have shown going over the speed limit does not actually make a drive faster due to the likelihood of a crash, stoppage by light, or cop pulling someone over. The best course of action is to be patient, watchful, and most of all calm. I cannot personally drive, but to help others be safe, be mindful of how fast they are going and what the speed limit is. Try to calm them when they are angered and avoid pushing them to make unwise decisions. Driver safety is not built on the back of one person but on the knowledge of many who know what they are doing. The best way to keep people safe is to spread that knowledge as far as possible.