The Fear That Drives Us

In the winter of 2021, I started taking the needed drivers classes. The class was taught by a police officer, who had a wealth of car crash stories. In addition to the stories that he would tell in order to imprint the dangers of certain driving habits, he would also show the class videos of people who were involved in car crashes. There was one particular document that simply embedded itself into my mind. It was about a girl who was driving home from work, she had the night shift and was simply dead tired. As her eyes struggled to stay open, she crashed into what she thought was the mailbox before she drove away to deal with it later. It wasn’t until later that she learned that this supposed mailbox was a child. Naturally, she turned herself in. Then on the last day of my driving class, a car accident happened less than a quarter mile away from the school. That crash ended up taking the life of the passenger.

Fear enforces law. If driving fines did not exist, there will certainly be an exponential amount of illegal maneuvers. This is explicitly seen in the amount of stop signs being ignored, and driving speeds being obliterated when there’s no cop in sight. So it makes sense that the same logic applies to driver education. When a person is aware of the dangers of driving, they become a little hesitant in driving irresponsibly. With the fear of causing harm to oneself or another due to irresponsible driving, many would be more cautious in driving and inadvertently decrease the amount of deaths that happen. However, this fear may be uplifted in a moment of intense emotions or momentary distraction. After a while, some may even think, ‘there’s no way I would ever be in a car accident.’ Simply, the thought of getting into a car accident seems so disconnected from themselves.

Safe to say, that while it’s enough for some people to take driver’s education and realize that their lives and the lives of their friends and family is worth more than a momentary overconfidence in their luck and driving skills, the dangers do not even enter the minds of others. The overconfidence in oneself, the lack of fear on the road, is the main cause of accidents. This overconfidence is the driving force behind the thought that they can drive safely home even when drunk, sleepy, or distractedly. The though that ‘I can do it, I’ve driven on this road so many times that I could still do it with my eyes close,’ is what leads to car accidents. That, or the empty words that friends toss out that go along the lines of ‘it’ll be fine,’ due to the inconvenience of finding a different driver. Though, what use are those words if they end up in a car crash?

For some, only when faced with the accident right in front of them, will they be more cautious in the way they drive. For others, they still have a way out. Through the experiences of my drivers’ education being taught by a police officer, I have found that these words of caution may be taken by the listener as ‘stories just to scare me.’ Even the documentaries can simply be passed off as ‘acting.’ A way to truly knock into the minds of young drivers the dangers of irresponsible driving is by inviting a guest, someone who has gone through a car crash themselves. And as cruel as it sounds, someone who has lost a limb or family members will naturally have the greatest impact. This guest will allow many to realize that these accidents could really happen to anyone, and it gives a touch of realism that the screen may not carry. For those that need the shock of an actual car crash to finally realize the dangers they may be causing, perhaps a simulation will do the trick. However, such an invention has yet to be made, and it may cause trauma. In the end, it is up to the people that surround such a person, to ensure that they do not make the stupid mistake of driving while mentally impaired. Say, offer to drive your co-workers home if they are exhausted, or simply pay for their ride. Have a designated driver, and a back-up driver, if your friends go out to drink. Read the text message out loud if the driver’s phone rings (with their permission), so that they aren’t distracted wondering about it. Should you be in the passenger seat, try to keep your eyes on the road as if you were the co-pilot.

Other than instilling caution into the students that take driver education, driver education also teachers them drivers etiquette. My driving instructor’s favorite words were, “the dangers are not always from oneself, it may come from the surrounding drivers.” To which he would follow with multiple stories of speeding cars coming up behind him, forcing him to speed as well in order to avoid a collision. This, I personally experienced when I turned at the stop sign, and the driver on the other stop sign, continued to roll forward as the driver stared at his phone.

Since one has to rely on other drivers to forgive them for their driving mistakes, as well as to respect the right of way, one naturally has to learn the rules. Additionally, driving is similar to a community full of unspoken rules, then one has to learn each unspoken rule in order to return the respect that was given by the other driver. As to who is in charge of teaching these unspoken rules, the responsibility naturally lies on the person teaching drivers ed. Yet, knowledge only does so much, as putting that knowledge into practice is incredibly nerve wracking. It is then up to the parents or guardians to ensure that the student is ready to drive without guidance when they get their driver’s license.

How driver education is handled can mean all the world to new drivers, it can mean the difference of putting the lessons taught in mind, or disregarding every word that comes out of the instructor’s mouth. Thankfully, the initially written test is already enough to deter those with irresponsible mindsets. For those who have passed the test, they must keep reviewing the rules of driving lest they forget. Then, they can always keep an eye on other drivers. Taking mental note on who you never want to be in charge of the wheel. So while car accident will never cease to exist, one can always take extra precaution, another step towards safety. After all, doesn’t everyone just want to go home to their family by the end of the night?