Behind the Wheel: The EMT Approach

   As a child that progresses into a teen driving is one of the most exciting parts of aging. From the time I could remember driving on my own was one of the most important milestones of my high school experience. As an adult I began my first major career as an emergency medical technician and have gotten immense training on how to drive properly and I feel that some of what I was taught could be translated to teens learning how to drive with great success in the reduction of fatalities behind the wheel. Teens need to say no to distracts, they need driver training before they even get a license and they need to keep doing it. 

  As a child I have plenty of scary situations in vehicles with my mom behind the wheel. We had numerous accidents because she would drive under the influence and did not see the issue. When it came time for me to start driving I made myself very aware of how she broke the rules. In turn I made sure I followed all of the driving rules. I know not everyone has experience like that but there is a lot that can be taught from her mistakes. Another issue is driving while tired which is just as dangerous as driving under the influence. There are  three stages of falling asleep and studies show that once someone reaches the second stage they begin to relax and become harder to arouse. Imagine trying to operate a vehicle in this stage and being responsible for a whole vehicle. Once I became an EMT I leaned the other side of distracted driving with fatal accidents that where all avoidable with proper training. 

  Driving a personal vehicle should be held with just as much importance as driving an ambulance with the lights on. In school we where taught about the importance of situational awareness and how to not draw attention to our driving. Part of the situational awareness is not having loud music or a phone in hand. As a driver we are not only responsible for our vehicle but we need to expect the unexpected from all other drivers on the road because we never know what someone might do. My first supervisor had a quote about driving, “ check your mirrors, expect to get cut off and drive like you have a new baby in the car”. – (D. Rose, 2017) 

  One of the best things I learned since becoming an EMT is how to drive. We do extensive driving training to practice in a controlled environment on handling the vehicle and challenges faced while driving it. I personally did not get drivers training when I got my license and I think that would have made a huge impact in my confidence as a early driver. Getting a drivers license is so hyped up but we fall short in training the actually drive. I know some parents teach their kids how to drive but this needs to be mandatory and it needs to be done in a school type setting with a pass or fail approach. In my research 85 percent of the US population has a smartphone, if there was a way for this smartphone to detect when a person is in motion and is able to lock so the user could not text or be able to view apps but unlock when the vehicle is stopped could greatly help the distracted driver issues. Another option would be to do more mock accidents to scare teens into seeing how their actions have consequences. When I was in high school we did a mock accident that displayed how distracted driving is a careless act that can take lives. More schools need to show how that kind of thing happens and how it can impact peoples lives forever. 

Not only do we need to implement driving school into the process of getting a license but we need to keep this training going on for the duration of time drivers are licensed. Every few years drivers should have to do a test to prove they still hold the skills to safety operate a moving vehicle. Statistics show that the highest age frames for fatal accidents are new drives ages 16-17 and older drivers 70-79. With this annual or biannual driving test we could better assess the skill sets of these drivers in a controlled environment and potentially avoid these fatal accidents in general. 

 

As far a being a better driver goes to we as a whole need to do more training and eliminate the distraction. Driving is not being treated like the privilege it actually is and that is not helping with the distractions. The first step to cut down fatality accidents would be to put down phones and turn down music. Second improvement would be to implement a driving competency that is pass or fail so drivers have to prove they can operate a vehicle and the last improvement would be