Improve The System

What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving?

On average, 3,700 individuals lose their lives to a car accident every day. I was the last person out of all of my friends to get their driver’s license, giving me a lot of time to reflect on startling statistics such as this one. I am also a frequent passenger to a family member who texts and drives nearly every time they are behind the wheel, despite my best efforts. These two things have made me into someone who is extremely aware of the dangers of driving and who is passionate about encouraging safe driving. I feel that the world could reduce the number of deaths related to driving by increasing the seriousness of drivers education classes, focusing on exposing and preparing new drivers for the reality of driving, and working with cell phone companies to develop programs to make it more difficult to text and drive.

The drivers education class that is taught to high school students should be a vital tool in reducing driving related deaths and injuries. However, it seems as though driver’s education has lost its credibility and is viewed by the majority of students as a class that can be blown off. I took drivers ed my sophomore year, with the written exam taking place at the same time as the end of the semester assessments for my honors and AP classes. This led to me cramming the night before the test. With less than two hours of prep time, I not only passed the written test, but aced it. While I am an above average student, I feel that there is no reason that the written exam should be so easy. Further, drivers education does not spend the majority of its time focusing on how one actually drives. Speaking from my experience, the bulk of the course discusses the meaning of signs and how far away from them to stop. While this is important information to know, the course fails to realize that students have never been behind the wheel before, and doesn’t discuss the basics of driving. By improving the quality of the drivers education curriculum, new drivers will be safer on the roads before they have even gotten behind the wheel.

Another flaw in the system that I saw while preparing for my license was in the process of earning my learners permit. While doing my six hours of driving with an instructor, I was given very little instruction as to how the roads actually work. I was simply told to start, stop, and turn. I have discussed this with my friends, who used different instructors, and they all felt the same way. One could argue that this information should have been learned in drivers ed, but, as I have discussed, the drivers education class fails to properly prepare students for the reality of driving. The test for gaining one’s license also needs to be made much stricter. The “road test” in New Jersey no longer takes place on an actual road, but in a parking lot. This is just another example of how the state is failing to expose young learners to the reality of driving, which only increases anxiety and the opportunity for stress induced mistakes.

A way to reduce driving related deaths without interacting with the driver would be reaching out to cell phone companies to develop a successful program that would limit the number of text messages that are able to be received while driving. Companies, such as Apple and Samsung, already have the technology to monitor how fast an individual is moving and the technology to place the phone in order to not disturb. By combining this technology, companies could make it so that phones automatically enter do not disturb, which silences and filters phone calls, once a user exceeds a certain speed. This program, or something similar, would remove the distraction and temptation that text messages cause drivers. It would greatly reduce the needless distraction and keep the driver’s eyes on the road for longer periods of time. The silencing of text messages could be enough to drop the number of driving related deaths substantially.

While these steps would require time, work, and adjustment, they are broad suggestions that would reach a large number of people and improve the safety of driving on a large scale. Human error is a part of life, but by better preparing our new drivers and removing tempting distractions, we can greatly improve the statistics that we are currently facing.