The Deadly Weapons We Drive

Every time you get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle to drive, you accept the responsibility of operating a potentially deadly weapon. However, many, if not most, people do not consciously acknowledge this fact before trekking out onto the streets, roads, highways and freeways that weave through our country. As a result, tens of thousands of preventable vehicle accident-related deaths occur every year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2022 saw the deaths of approximately 42,795 people due to traffic collisions, not much of an improvement from the previous year. Increasing driver education to reinforce and solidify citizens’ awareness of the dire responsibility that is undertaken by driving a motor vehicle could lower this tragic statistic.

Driving is not a natural human activity; it is an acquired skill. Like any learned skill, the ability to drive is improved and refined by education and practice. Drivers’ education should entail many aspects of driving, more than what is currently addressed as a requirement to gain a driver license. For example, it is important to be familiar with the size of the vehicle you are driving in order to make proper judgments and decisions while maneuvering the roads. Practicing parallel parking is a great way to develop an understanding of your vehicle’s length and width, but unfortunately it is no longer required for the behind-the-wheel driver test. In general, I do not believe the required driver education or behind-the-wheel test contain sufficient criteria for determining if someone should be granted licensure. A more stringent series of courses should be required in which prospective drivers are taught in greater detail about the responsibility of driving and the importance of defensive driving and awareness of your surroundings.

Defensive driving is an essential skill. Even if you as a driver practice utmost safety and follow all traffic laws, you should be constantly aware that others might not. Increasing your awareness of other drivers in your surroundings is imperative, especially when crossing through intersections, entering freeways, or performing other maneuvers that demand greater focus. This is true even if you have the right-of-way. Always be cognizant of road conditions and the flow of traffic, and how to approach them appropriately. Additionally, merging is not given the amount of educational attention it should receive. Merging is a frequent driving maneuver that is more dangerous than many people think, and should only be done when completely necessary. It requires proper timing and distance perception, which can be challenging. Road conditions, speeding drivers, and the presence of the rear-view blind spot make it an even greater challenge. In my experience, blind spot mirrors are indispensable and inexpensive assets. The practice required to become accustomed to using them is well worth the drastic reduction of the size of the blind spot. Encouraging the use of blind spot mirrors in drivers’ education could reduce the incidence of destructive sideswipe collisions. Finally, I believe mandatory refresher courses should be required for renewal. Commuting our world in vehicles becomes commonplace, creating drivers that are desensitized. Review courses have the potential to restore awareness of the hazards of driving; I know many of us lead busy lives, but taking the time to maintain a responsible mindset while driving is crucial to reducing deaths from vehicle accidents.

Neglecting the degree of consciousness required when driving can have calamitous results. Navigating the roadways heavily engages our visual and auditory senses and necessitates good coordination. Drivers should always minimize distractions, namely cell phone use, eating, and rubbernecking. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), texting while driving makes you 23.2 times

more likely to experience a traffic collision! The FMCSA also notes that at fifty-five miles per hour, a vehicle has traveled around three hundred seventy one feet in five seconds. Drivers need to be made to understand that in the average five seconds it takes to send a text, they have essentially traveled the length of a football field at a life-threatening speed, blindfolded. Eating while driving, similarly to texting, redirects some of your focus from the road while eliminating the full use of both hands, which affects your reaction time. Rubbernecking poses a threat as yet another distraction; rubbernecking drivers also frequently drive slower while observing a situation that does not concern them, which creates a road hazard by obstructing the flow of traffic. Driving under the influence is a serious issue as well. It reduces your alertness and reaction time, as well as your perception of danger. It puts innocent people at risk. There is absolutely no reason to drive while intoxicated; choose a designated driver, one of numerous rideshare options, or a taxi, or even stay where you are.

Every driver knows the feeling of frustration while commuting. Road rage is unnecessary and dangerous, is not solution oriented, and can present hazards to drivers that are not even involved. Patience is vital in preventing road rage, as well as for maintaining overall focus while driving. I feel that drivers’ education should place more emphasis on developing patience and self de-escalation. Breathing techniques are quite effective in grounding oneself. Former monk Jay Shetty states that it takes approximately ninety seconds for the neurotransmitters released during a stressful event to dissipate. I have found that utilizing breathing techniques while counting backwards from ninety is a very effective self de-escalation strategy. Everyone has made mistakes while driving, and it is important not to feel personally offended by someone’s slipup; it is better to be prepared to react by remaining alert.

Yet another way to be safer behind the wheel is to not speed. The faster you travel, the more life-threatening a traffic collision becomes. According to Keating Firm Law, crashing at seventy miles per hour or more results in a fatal accident near certainty. Speeding is also irrational, because of the grave danger it places on the occupants of the vehicle while saving an insignificant amount of time, if any at all, and is not worth the risk to life. Additionally, speeding or attempting to speed often causes people to ride the bumpers of other drivers’ vehicles. This action places unnecessary stress on both drivers, and leaves the space cushion between the vehicles so small that any reaction time is practically absent. A former friend of mine demonstrated this on multiple occasions. He was involved in two rear end collisions within the span of two years as a result of his compulsive bumper riding. I am certain of this because I observed him doing it on many occasions, but he did not heed my warnings to discontinue the practice; when traffic came to a swift stop, his actions had left his space cushion too small for reaction leading him to collide with the vehicle in front of him.

In the city I reside in, I have noted that the city government does not step in to make high-risk intersections safer until several collisions have occurred there. For example, my cross street intersects with the main boulevard. Stop signs give the right-of-way to boulevard traffic, while the cross street must yield. I have witnessed and heard innumerable accidents during the last twenty years, and only this year did they begin to

install stop lights. I think that city officials in areas that suffer in this way need to step up and take action in reducing issues such as this. In addition to drivers being safer and more responsible, government can also play a major role in making the roads safer.

Alertness, awareness, patience, and proper drivers’ education are critical for making our country a safer place to drive and reducing the unfortunate number of deaths seen yearly due to preventable vehicle collisions. Going forward, I will continue to minimize distractions and stress when I drive, by practicing self de-escalation and patience, and consciously remind myself that no distraction is worth risking my life or others’ lives. If I feel too stressed, I will make an effort to not head out onto the road or pull over and take a break if possible. If I feel a text or phone call is urgent, I will remember that pulling off of the road to reply or answer is much safer, even if it only takes a few seconds. Additionally, I will limit merging as much as possible and continue to utilize blind spot mirrors. Vehicle collisions can and do happen to anyone; we all need to work together to reduce the devastation caused by irresponsible driving.