In The Driver’s Seat

“In the Driver’s Seat”

Teenage drivers are three times more likely to die in a car crash than any other age group when they are in the driver’s seat. The death for males is twice as high as females. Driver education coupled with state laws are the two most important factors that can reduce the number of deaths on the highway.

Driver education is taken by teens before getting their driving permit and covers all of the necessary rules of the road plus the nuances of driving. Driver education supports the laws of the state to reinforce the dangers of driving against the rules.

Teenage drivers are the most likely to drive distracted. They don’t think twice about using their cell phones or talking to a passenger and turning around. They fiddle with the radio and look at the side of the road for what is going on in the area and take their eyes off of the wheel for lighting a cigarette or getting a bite to eat, for example. A shocking 80% of all crashes and 65% of all near crashes took place within 3 seconds of the crash involving driver’s inattention. These accidents came from the most dangerous forms of distraction: cognitive (the mind), manual (hands) and visual (sight) which increase the risk of a crash by a whopping 2300%.

That research was done by surveys from the National Highway Safety Commission, Virginia Tech and Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety.

The 2020 Virginia DMV reported that more than 14% of fatal crashes involving distracted driving is likely an underestimate as the problem of distraction can be difficult to determine in the case of a fatality. Every day, nine people are killed and over 1,000 are injured because of distracted drivers. Young people are involved in more crashes than any other age group by far. They are inexperienced in handling or controlling a vehicle during an emergency situation.

According to AAA the summer months are the “100 deadliest days”. AAA says that no matter how much they say to try and change the behavior of teens, 57% of them are more likely to stop distracted driving if a friend or passenger pressures them to stop.

Driver education focuses on teens driving distracted and how easily they can speed. They emphasize speeding often becomes reckless driving. And that is a felony that won’t be removed from your driving record, along with the consequence of losing voting privileges and having difficulty finding a job.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in ‘Teen Driver’s Get the Facts’ states that besides distracted driving teen’s deaths increased with nighttime and weekend driving and with not wearing a seat belt and alcohol use, all covered in driver education.

Driver education teaches that The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety points out that 78% of teenage crash deaths were passenger vehicle occupants. That is dis proportionally high.

This year, my home state of Virginia passed Law HB874 stating it is illegal to even have a handheld device ready to use. My contention is that the same law should be passed in all of the states based on the frequency of deaths related to distracted driving and the help it would give driver’s education classes. That would be one big step forward.

Personally, my sister drinks and drives. When she is in the driver’s seat she thinks that she has had only one drink. And in fact, she has had a few. It is when we go out to eat when she comes to visit from Florida. She is my older sister and domineering and I tell her that she is drinking and we can’t drive. That doesn’t help. I have not been strong in resisting going in the car with her. This scholarship essay has given me a new perspective on my responsibility. I will have to talk to her a head of time to make sure she is not surprised and perhaps make arrangements for a friend to pick me up. Hopefully she will only have one drink at dinner and then have another when we go home. I will suggest that to her.

To improve safety on the road there a several things that I can do. Driver’s education offers points for taking a course. I can encourage my friends to take a class and I will join them. When driving I will model excellent behavior and show courteous and skilled driving techniques. When I see a friend trying to drive after drinking I will offer to drive them home or call another person for them.

I will remember when I am in the driver’s seat all that it entails. Driving safely is my responsibility.