Scholarship – In the Driver’s

So far, the most heartbreaking day of my life was the funeral day of two close friends from my church community. They had died unexpectedly after being struck by a drunk driver, coming home from a reunion between friends who had done service together in Chile. This specific tragedy was not the friends’ fault, but the repercussions were felt by everyone, and an initiative to spread driving safety awareness ensued. Vehicles were invented to serve us, however, much too often we see just the opposite occurring, as made clear by the 10.5% increase in fatal car accidents in the United States from 2020 to 2021, as recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in their report of annual fatalities (Administration, 2022). In order to reduce the number of driving-related deaths, we must take steps to create awareness of what causes accidents in the first place. After drivers are aware of these causes, there must be an effort to eliminate or diminish those causes.

But what exactly leads drivers to get into accidents and, what leads those accidents to become fatal? There is a multitude of possibilities. The NHTSA lists drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, distracted driving, driving without seatbelts, speeding, and drowsy driving as the main culprits for risky driving and car accidents. It is tempting for many people to point the finger of blame mostly at drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, thus ranking these threats in order to justify their risky driving. It cannot be denied that such driving causes a great threat to public safety, however, such justifying behavior allows many unsafe driving habits to go unpunished, which adds to the already unsafe roads we see today. In order to prevent more car-related deaths, drivers must be better educated to understand the consequences and alternatives to all reckless tendencies in order to avoid them and create a safer environment on our roads.

In my time as a licensed driver, I have gotten in one accident, in which I backed my car into the side of another parked car as I was leaving an event. There was no one in the other car, but the impact from the accident heavily dented that car and moved it over 6 inches from where it was. The cause of this accident was getting distracted by my friend who was in the front passenger seat instead of focusing on what I was seeing in my rear-view mirror. This could have been avoided if I, as the driver, would have asked my friend to wait until we were out of the parking lot to tell me what she was trying to say in order to stay focused. Luckily this was a minor accident, and no one was harmed. However, what if she had distracted me while we were on the freeway going 55 miles per hour? The outcome could have been fatal. This experience made me feel much more passionate about safe driving because I felt so bad for having caused so much damage to someone else’s car. It would have been much better for me not to have to learn in such a drastic way.

There are many people who have had to learn from much more costly experiences. As I mentioned in the beginning, I know two families who lost their sons due to another person’s choice to drive drunk. I had only understood the consequences of poor driving choices in theory before this time. How I wish that that understanding had never become a reality. I remember my heart breaking as I saw the two boys’ families sobbing for them. Their families advocated greatly for an organization called “Mothers Against Drunk Driving”, which has the goal of educating Americans on the dangers of drunk driving and “create[ing a] nation of no more victims” (MADD, n.d.). This organization sets an amazing example of taking strides to create a safer world to drive in. Their hope for our world is powerful as they create awareness of such a widespread issue, suggest ways to volunteer your help, and call for action and invite people to become activists to help save lives.

The idea of modern technology turning on us and being the downfall of humanity has been a long-running concern and joke of sorts in our world, though it is not considered to have become a relevant issue. Yet perhaps we’ve been weary of the wrong technology harming us and our loved ones. As we take seriously the responsibility to drive safely and educate others to do the same, we too, like the courageous organization of mothers, can hope for a world in which there are no more victims.