Driver Education

“Drive like your kids live here.” “Don’t drink and drive.” “Don’t text and drive.” “Better late than never.”

These are famous slogans that we have all heard at least once in our lives. But most of us don’t think twice about it after we finish school and are no longer required to listen to presentations about safe driving. This is a mistake! In order to prevent distracted driving there are a plethora of steps drivers can take. It only takes a second to lose a life and it also only takes a second to rethink a decision that may save your own or someone else’s life.

One of the most important rules when it comes to driving is to not multitask. Driving a car means having control of a thousand pound killing machine and if there are passengers that means you are responsible for their safety. Driving a car requires all of your focus because anything can happen in a split second. You must be able to anticipate and have patience in dangerous situations. So that means absolutely no cellular usage! 10% of the deaths that occur by car for teens has to do with cell phone usage. Especially for teens it seems to be hard to concentrate when your phone is buzzing or ringing beside you. The easiest solution for this is to turn on Do Not Disturb on the phone before driving. This is not just for teens but for all drivers. By turning this on you are ensuring that your phone will not ring and therefore you will not turn and check it. Another way to prevent phone usage is to stow the phone away before driving. Even seeing the phone may distract some drivers.

Another method to put a stop to distracted driving is to avoid driving under the influence (alcohol and drugs). This is one of the most important rules because driving while imparied in any way is putting everyone around you in danger. When you choose to drive while impaired you are risking the safety of other people and that is the most selfish decision one can make. Driving without being impaired is dangerous itself because of the many distractions one can face, so if your decision making abilities are impaired it makes it more dangerous than usual.

If you are feeling drowsy or sleepy or just unable to drive, immediately pull over! Even though you might not be intoxicated you are not focusing completely on the road so you are putting yourself and others at risk. It is better to pull over and be safe instead of forcing yourself to keep driving. Like stated in the beginning, it is better to be late to something than to not arrive at all. When you are feeling sleepy, there is the risk that you can fall asleep at the wheel and then you have no control whatsoever on anything that happens. At least when you are wide awake, you can react to something that happens.

Onto ways to encourage drivers to make smarter decisions, one way would be to require drivers to take a 10 minute course every year to refresh their memories on what not to do when driving. If every driver is required to watch a 10 minute video every year in order to keep their license, it might affect them and remind them not to make bad decisions. If the video gives realistic statistics and/or brings situations that occurred where people have died, people will feel guilty and be more careful when driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is one lobbyist group that can help with these videos. Another way to encourage safe driving is to engage drivers. I once saw these signs in Australia where drivers on long roads are asked trivia questions to help them stay awake and alive. I thought this was a good idea if one is driving along a country road where it seems to extend forever. These questions will be related to statistics on deaths from vehicles so that they will be learning as well. Another way to engage drivers is to place a speed limit detector along highways where if one is going 20 miles over the speed limit they automatically get a ticket sent to them through their license plate. Although some may think that this is excessive, it is something that must be done because safe driving is super important. We spend a chunk of our lives in transportation like cars so it is extremely important to know how to drive safely and how to prevent dangerous situations.

Put a stop to distracted driving and encourage drivers to make smarter decisions!