Both Hands on the Wheel

There’s sickening wrenching of metal and the shattering of glass. Ambulances arrive just as cars nearby slow to see the wreckage. Car crashes are everyday horrors that we have all become acquainted with. Every mother that hears about the pile up on a local highway prays that her child wasn’t involved. If car crashes are so common, it is a wonder that more of them aren’t prevented, which begs the question: How can individuals do more to avoid car crashes? Driver education is vital in learning how one can keep themself and others safe in a vehicle, for instance, learning how to avoid distracted driving, never driving under the influence, and making safety a habit.

Distracted driving is regularly brought up for its dangers and it is banned in nearly all states in the U.S. because of the risks associated with it. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “3,142” people died in collisions that involved distracted driving in 2020 and 9 people die from distracted driving every day. Pulling attention away from the road is risky and though it may seem that sending a text while driving won’t take very long the brain is less able to multitask than many people believe. Driver education helps push young drivers to focus on the road as having someone watching them will reinforce the proper behaviors for future driving. American Family Insurance has several tactics to avoid distracted driving including downloading a text-blocker app to restrict notifications from text messages; having a passenger of the appropriate age navigating rather than using a GPS; and avoiding eating while driving. The benefits of practicing these tactics are that drivers can have their hands free to hold onto the steering wheel in two positions and their attention will be solely devoted to the surrounding traffic. All of these methods are extremely accessible for all drivers and can be implemented overnight, helping to eliminate distracted driving and the fatalities associated with it.

According to the NHTSA, 32 people die from driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which can be translated to one person every 45 minutes. The CDC states that in 2020 there was a “14.3% increase” in the number of motor vehicle crashes involving impaired drivers as compared to 2019. Within the U.S. “1 million arrests” are made for driving under the influence. Due to the prevalence of impaired driving it is extremely important for people, but especially youth, to learn to be observant of their surroundings and the behaviors of their peers. Driving under the influence doesn’t just increase the risk of fatality for teens though. An arrest for driving under the influence could remain on a criminal record for “three to five” years, according to Forbes, which could make it harder to find a job or get into college. The NHTSA also states that a blood alcohol concentration of just “.02” causes a driver to have a “decline in visual functions” such as the eye’s ability to track an object that moves quickly and a “decline in the ability perform two tasks at the same time.” Additionally, an article by CNN states that “55%” of people involved in “serious or fatal road accidents” had drugs or alcohol in their systems. Even the smallest amounts of alcohol in ones’ bloodstream can impare motor functions that relate directly to driving, and the higher the alcohol content of the blood, the higher the risk is of someone in the vehicle becoming severely wounded or killed.

Due to the dangers that teens could face on the roads, they should commit themselves to creating safety habits because without it someone else’s life could be put on the line. Liam Mikael Kowal was just one year old when his aunt was taking him for a walk in the stroller and a drunk driver hit the both of them on the sidewalk. His mother submitted their story to California’s Office of Traffic Safety and stated that she refused to let their passing “just be another statistic.” It is stories like these that transform those saddening numbers into real human beings with lives and families. Stories like these give even more reason for drivers to be cautious and aware, making driver education that much more relavent. When teens are able to practice driving in a monitored setting it instills good driving etiquette and gives them a space to ask questions. Additionally, a trained instructor can give tips to students on how to plan for emergencies regarding a malfunction in their vehicle, encountering aggressive drivers, or harsh weather conditions. They are taught to plan a designated driver if they go out drinking, call out the bad behavior in their peers, and how to drive defensively. Over time, these lessons become habits that create safer roads for themselves and for those driving alongside them.

Driver education is one of the few educational courses that students will use every day of their lives. It teaches students to stay away from alcohol prior to driving, reducing the risk of injury and fatality; avoid distracted driving to increase their awareness; and impress habits that will keep them safe. Many driving accidents are preventable but only if people know how to encounter and deal with hard situations. Driver education courses are how teenagers learn to be responsible for their health, safety, and the safety of others. Not only that, but it gives them the agency and confidence to keep both hands on the wheel when times get tough.