TO ALL DRIVERS: EDUCATION IS KEY

UK highway fatalities sat at 1,560 in 2021 (1). Although, this is a very small fraction of UK drivers, it should be a constant aim in the UK, and across the world, to reduce deaths from driving. This is why educating drivers is paramount.

I am 18 years old and do not drive. But I am very much alert to the dangers associated with driving, and hopefully a non-driver, nonetheless one who is likely to start driving in the near future, provides a refreshing outlook on this topic. My first experience of dangerous driving was as an infant: we had been undertaken, the driver moving at speed, and nearly crashed. I wondered then, as I do now, why do people risk the lives of others in dangerous driving? Driver education undoubtedly reduces the number of dangerous driving manoeuvres, such as this, and helps to protect lives, as drivers have safe driving practices engrained into them, and are attuned to the consequences of dangerous driving. However, a lack of driver education is only one part of a very complex problem: people’s emotions and bounded rationality forms a barrier to total road safety. Perhaps the driver I described was in a rush, distracted, or being influenced by their passengers. These factors always will play a part in deaths as a result of driving. However, driver education remains fundamental – the safer driving there is, the less likely an accident.

On the one hand, driver education is imperative to reducing driving-related deaths. We see this clearly through comparing drivers by age: young drivers, aged 16-19, are 38% more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a car accident than drivers aged 40-49. More shockingly, drivers aged 20-29 are 65% more likely to be killed, or seriously injured, than drivers aged 40-49, in the UK (2). These figures align with the age-old stereotype that young drivers are more likely to be in an accident than older ones, but why? Some studies suggest a lack of confidence. A new survey of 1,500 new motorists in the UK voted driving on a motorway as their biggest fear, with the fear of crashing a close second (3). The more one is educated on driving safely in environments like motorways and in bad weather, the less likely they are to slip up – driving without confidence is just as dangerous as driving with too much confidence. In turn, educating drivers on tackling these difficult terrains safely will help to reduce fatalities on the road. Though, to be clear, being wary in certain environments is completely natural. And this makes motorists more cautious and perhaps safer drivers. The problem emerges when drivers do not feel in control of their vehicle. It is worth asking, can this confidence can be formed in driver education and training, or does it require lived experience? The latter theorem would explain why older drivers, with more experience are less likely to crash. If we include non-assessed experience as a form of driver education, then it is just as valuable as driving lessons and theory exams. In summary, driver education is critical to ensuring safer driving.

On the other hand, driver education may not be as important as the presence of psychological and emotional factors in preventing the number of deaths as a result of driving. This could set down a floor on driver fatalities. Firstly, peer pressure is an infamous cause of dangerous driving. A recent study sampled teen drivers who had been involved in serious car accidents. The results showed that fellow teen passengers can cause “thrill seeking” behaviour, with male drivers being six times more likely to conduct illegal driving manoeuvres, and more than twice as likely to drive aggressively (4). That peer pressure is proven to increase accident rates in young people explains the disproportionate rate of deaths of young drivers in most countries. Also, the “thrill seeking” behaviour of the sample can be explained scientifically: speeding down highways is a form of pleasure-seeking behaviour for some, especially in groups that encourage such behaviour, because it releases dopamine to the brain – the “pleasure” hormone. In the UK, reckless driving behaviour, or being in a hurry, expressed itself as the cause of 18% of car accidents. However, I think that people should perceive these astonishing facts as something that should inform driver education – the implications of emotional and psychological factors may need to be further incorporated into driver education to make it more effective at reducing deaths. Alas, with reforms and improvements over time, driver education may become more important in reducing the number of deaths from driving.

In conclusion, educating drivers is not only important, but the most important factor in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving, I believe. This is because driver education provides confidence, and it can be used to enlighten motorists on barriers to safe driving, such as peer pressure. A testament to this is the 7% decline in road fatalities (2011-2020) in the UK (1). With advances in research and updates to the highway code, driver education is constantly evolving, and is able to generate a greater importance in reducing driving-related deaths. Nevertheless, psychological and emotional factors are a major contributor to deaths on the roads that education cannot eliminate entirely.