In the Driver’s Seat

My freshman year of high school, my sister was dating this boy; we will call him Stephen. The next morning I woke up, my sister was gone, so I asked my mom what had happened. She told me, “She’s at the hospital with Stephen, he got into a bad car wreck last night.” A little while later, I came to find out that there had been four others in that wreck, and Stephen was the one driving. The other four had all broken their legs, arms, or ribs, and one almost died. He coded a few times in the hospital, then he ended up disabled. The reason this happened was because Stephen was high on cocaine, drunk, and driving 80 mph in a 45. The boy that became disabled went through the windshield and flew out and hit a tree head on.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2021 there were 42,915 traffic fatalities. The CDC records, “teen drivers are more likely than any other group to be involved in a car accident.” Additionally, Forbes Advisor tells us, “Human Error and lack of responsible driving behavior accounts for the most fatalities on the road. These deaths could all be preventable.” They go on to say that, “Every day, 32 people in the United States die in drunk driving car crashes. That’s one person every 45 minutes.” Lastly, “Dialing a phone is one of the most dangerous distractions, increasing a driver’s chance of crashing by 12 times” (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2016). No one really thinks about these facts when you leave your home everyday and drive somewhere. Most people do not understand the statistics of driving related deaths, and if they did, it might help save many lives.

I know myself that I am guilty of texting while driving, calling someone, messing with my radio, or being distracted while I drive because I think that getting in a bad wreck could never happen to me. According to the facts, it is more probable that I will get into a wreck one day than not. I could probably prevent this from happening by simply keeping my phone put away.

It is so crucial that more teens and adults see and hear these statistics. Nobody teaches anyone this, so most people do not even know this is the truth. For teens, a lot of them do not care to drive recklessly or be under the influence. That is why driver education is so important in preventing a tragic amount of deaths. Just by explaining these statistics to new drivers could make so many people aware of how important it is to be cautious on the road.

Researchers Duane Shell and Ian Newman of the Nebraska Prevention Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln compiled the driving records of 151,800 Nebraska youth who obtained their provisional operator’s permit between 2003 and 2010. About 53 percent of the teens took a state-approved driver’s education course to qualify for the permit. The remainder qualified by logging 50 hours of practice driving under the supervision of a parent or other adult. During their first year of driving, the group who took driver’s ed had significantly fewer accidents and traffic tickets than the group that logged driving hours without formal driving instruction.

This study proves how just having a traditional drivers education course can prevent fatalities. It should become law everywhere that a new driver is required to take a drivers ed course that also teaches how important it is to drive safely; along with how your reckless driving can hurt others on the road.

Sometimes wanting someone else to do the work to make change is not enough. The saying is, “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” To take this situation into my own hands, I will have to start with my own school. For myself, I will quit using my phone when on the road. If someone calls, or needs me I will pull over then use my phone. I will not let others distract me when in the vehicle with me. Furthermore, If I want to make others aware of these dangers, I will have to go to them myself. At my school, I will create flyers for driving awareness. I will post on my social media accounts the statistics and bring attention to how important it is to stay safe on the road. I can also make an announcement over the intercom in the mornings and afternoons about driver’s safety.

To conclude, driving is not something to take lightly. We all think that getting hurt or killed in a car accident will never happen to us, but if we want that to be true, we have to take measures to help prevent it. It is vital that teens and adults are aware of these fatality statistics, that people understand how important it is to limit distractions, and that everyone is focused when driving. I hope to help reach these goals by using my own voice to help others take precautions, and to tell about the dangers of reckless driving.

Works Cited

“Driver Demographics.” driving tests, https://driving-tests.org/driving-statistics/. Accessed 8 November 2022.

Simon, Shelby, and Adam Ramirez. “How Many People Die From Car Accidents Each Year?” forbes advisor, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/auto-accident/car-accident-deaths/. Accessed 8 November 2022.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Study: Driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets.” UNL newsroom, 13 August 2015, https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver%27s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets. Accessed 8 November 2022.