The Lives of Those We Love

My father was almost killed in a car accident. Four times. Once was car-to-car. Another time, he was riding his motorcycle when a car changed lanes into him, and the time after that he was rear-ended by a car when riding his bike to work a week before going to the Olympic trials for boxing–he was left permanently injured and the doctors say the only reason he came out alive at all was because he was in incredible shape before the accident. The last time was another car crashing into him when he was on his motorcycle; I remember as if it were yesterday him coming home late one day after going to the hospital, limping into the house bruised and with road rash all over, letting us see the scarred, gaping wound in his side only once it was healed.

The scary thing is, on average every American driver will get into a crash three or four times per lifetime; my dad may have suffered far worse than many I know from automobile accidents, but he is by no means an anomaly in the sheer number of wrecks he has been in. This is where driver education comes in handy: by professionally training people in the basics of driving and maintaining a vehicle, as well as helping people become safer and more aware drivers, driving instruction has proved itself to be instrumental in developing and accentuating the skills necessary to operate automobiles safely and effectively. In fact, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and AAA, “Young drivers who do not participate in a driver’s ed course are 24% more likely to be involved in an injury or fatal accident” in comparison to those who do not take a driver’s education course. These daunting numbers are even more statistically significant when one takes into consideration the vast numbers of teenage drivers who are injured or killed each year: 277,000, according to the CDC. The CDC has also determined that “Motor accidents are the leading cause of death” for teens in the US, meaning that any and all measures must be taken in order to save our lives and protect the future generations, or promote the general welfare for ourselves and our posterity, as the founding fathers put it in the Constitution. With the lives of young people at stake, it therefore is imperative that we take concrete measures to implement courses of action that will reduce this needless bloodshed that takes place every single day.

These measures are quite simple: enrolling more young drivers into driver’s education, as evidenced by the previous statistics, will lead to fewer motor vehicle-related deaths because the risk of death increases with the lack of driver’s ed. By educating more young people on the basics of driving and providing a professional guide for them to follow the logically designed rules and regulations of the road–as well as being examples of thoughtful and aware driving–driver’s education will enable us young people to think for ourselves and become capable and sound drivers for the rest of our lives.

Additionally, there are other practical actions that can be taken as well in order to encourage safer driving and lessen the deaths of my generation. These include avoiding obvious risks such as cell phone usage–handheld or not–during automobile operation, but also lesser known risks such as eating, drinking, and even talking to passengers. According to the NHTSA, “eating or drinking while driving increases the chances of getting in a car accident by 80%”; a frightening statistic indeed because most of us do not think twice about grabbing a bite to eat or drink, yet “a driver is eight times more likely to be involved in an accident when reaching for an object” such as a phone, food, or drink. Drunk driving in itself is another highly threatening risk for car crashes and is the cause of one third of all automobile accidents nationwide even though only 2% of Americans regularly drive while intoxicated, making it imperative to warn young people of the risks associated with these choices. Thankfully, I have seen in my own experience that driver’s education does include these harrowing statistics, and makes a point to encourage drivers to be as undistracted as possible when operating a motor vehicle.

Furthermore, it is essential to increase awareness on how to be a better driver as going through the daily actions of life can often make us forget the fact that driving is a dangerous privilege and must be treated with care and respect. I remember vividly one day in my 8th grade English class when we were analyzing an infographic on the various causes of car crashes, and being shocked by the percentage of accidents caused by eating or drinking, as stated above. Reflecting on my own life, I adored my dad, but he was always eating or drinking (water!) in the car (I would even hold his burgers for him in between bites), my coach often is on his phone while driving us to and from practice, and my friends often check texts or calls when driving as well, making this infographic all the more eye-opening because these are my friends, my family, that could die. Being surrounded by people with unsafe driving habits makes me more aware of the risks associated with these behaviors, and now that I know better the consequences of these actions, also more vocal to the people around me about stopping these behaviors because it is our lives that are at stake. Infographics and statistics are useful, as evidenced in my own experience, but word of mouth is the way to go in order to promote a kind of grassroots movement to end motor vehicle deaths of all ages. I am doing my best to make the right choices and am grateful to not have been in an automobile accident yet, and I am trying my hardest to encourage others around me to do the same.

Through a dedicated and proactive effort to education, awareness, and personal connection regarding motor vehicle operation, I believe there can and will be an end to the unwarranted slaughter of the 46,000 people, each one with people that love them, that die needlessly each year in the US from automobile accidents.