Defensive Driving Saves

Just like any skill, driving requires education and experience to reduce accidents. Not everything is in your control as a driver while the road is shared with many others. What is in your control is how you react to situations that could be dangerous, a concept which is taught through driver education and experience behind the wheel. During my time in drivers education, I went through the standard rules of the road just as every other future driving teen has to go through. What my teacher hammered into our brains was the practice of defensive driving because even if you follow every rule, if you are not aware of others around you being reckless, you may end up in a crash. This awareness is not just taught in the classroom, but is developed through practice behind the wheel. Teen drivers in my state, Illinois, need to go through an extensive process: 12 hours behind the wheel with an instructor along with 50 hours with a legal adult to obtain their license. Teaching people not just how to drive according to the law, but driving protectively, is one step in how we as a society can prevent crashes and reduce the amount of vehicle related deaths.

Teens have to go through a lot more driver education than adults over 21. In Illinois there is no driver’s education requirement as an adult, much less any experience behind the wheel needed. While you still have to pass exams, the written rules only get you so far on the road and you do not learn scenarios such as you would in drivers ed. Putting someone who has never driven on the road before leads to more risk to not just that driver, but to others on the road.

While drivers education teaches teens effective tactics of defensive driving, there still is room for growth. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s Teen Driver Fact Sheet, despite making up 5.1 percent of the driving population, teens accounted for 8.5 percent of people in fatal crashes. Even if the teen is not at fault for the crash, the crash could have possibly been prevented through more awareness. 93 percent of crashes are caused by human error according to a 2008 NHTSA survey. The number of crashes caused by humans would be reduced if we mandate more experience and education to future drivers over the age of 21, along with increasing education and hours required for teens.

I experience first hand the opposite of defensive driving whenever I step in the car with my best friend. My friend is a racecar driver and has been competing in online simulated races for around 4 or 5 years. In summer of 2022, he obtained his racing license around the same time as his driver’s license, and plans to enter the world of professional racing. He currently owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, which he drives like it is a track-ready race car. While I am confident that he is aware of his surroundings, and practically knows his car inside out, I nevertheless get nervous when he goes 100 mph on the highway. This is not because I do not have faith in his driving ability, but because his aggressive driving does not take into consideration other drivers, or unseen dangers, like a sudden pothole. There have been many times I have to tell him to slow down while in the car, which actually does cause him to drive more cautiously. I understand his urge to go as fast as he can, but the risk is not worth it. Just because he trusts himself at high speeds does not mean he should trust every other car on the road. His driving style has given me some clear perspective into how I drive. I approach the road in a more defensive manner, anticipating other cars’ movements as if they may be just as aggressive as my friend. This approach has served me well, as I have driven for two and a half years now, without any moving violations or car accidents.

I know that I am not a perfect driver, nobody is. It is a challenge to follow the speed limit to the exact speed all of the time; sometimes I forget to use my turn signal, or I cut someone off accidentally. But most of these mistakes come more from lack of experience than from arrogance. My goal whenever I step behind the wheel is to focus on my surroundings with concentration, so I do not end up in the 8.5 percent of teens in fatal crashes. However, practicing safe driving can’t be an issue for only me to solve. Everyone needs to work on being a safe driver so I don’t have to say I love you to my mom when I leave my house, and have that be the last time she ever hears me say that. Awareness is the key to change.