Stopping a Bullet

How to Stop a Bullet

Picture a bullet–only instead of a couple ounces, it weighs three tons. And millions of people drive those bullets everyday.

Given the very nature of driving a car and the danger present in doing so, it’s hard to downplay the importance of having adequate education and experience; hundreds of thousands of people die every year because of car-related accidents. Studies show that individuals who have had adequate driving education are significantly less likely to have an accident than those who have not. It’d be obtuse to ignore the myriad statistics that indicate having a sufficient driving education leads to less crashes.

There are many steps that could be taken to help reduce the number of deaths related to driving, but there are a few key ones that seem exceedingly salient. Firstly (and perhaps most obviously), providing people with driving education is the most significant factor in reducing car accidents. If a student cannot afford the (admittedly) high cost of drivers training (usually anywhere from 300-900 dollars), then there should be programs put in place to help those who cannot fiscally justify it. Next, there should be required, routine assessments of one’s driving ability (including other important areas that impact driving, such as sight), to ensure that a driver must maintain safe habits in order to keep their license. And lastly, cultivating a culture of safe driving is an attitudinal prospect that would help normalize and encourage safe driving as a practice.

I consider myself a safe driver; however, I have experienced dangerous driving from both my peers and my elders alike, as I’m sure most people have at some point in their life. My friends like to do things on their phone while driving–whether that be just changing a song or sending a text. My mom and dad cannot seem to pry themselves from their phones while they are driving, either. It is one thing to be a safe driver on your own, but it is another issue trying to encourage those around you to be safe, especially given the stigmatized trope of a “backseat driver.” Despite the challenges though, I try to promote safe driving when somebody other than myself is behind the wheel, and the main way I do that is by simply communicating; I tell my friends or my family to stop texting and driving, and I offer to send the text they want for them. Some people respond well to this and are okay with the suggestion, while others get irritated. My parents, in particular, view my comments as annoying, sanctimonious, etc.. But I keep nagging them if they ever go on their phone because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me if they stop texting to be safe or just to shut me up–what matters is they aren’t distracted while driving. If my words can prevent an accident, it’d be irresponsible to be silent.

Just a few words are enough to stop a bullet.