Behind the Wheel: The Need for Safer Driving Through Education, Regulation, and Innovation

In today’s modern world, driving is a task that is almost impossible to avoid. From commuting to work to running errands, some amount of time in one’s day to day life involves, if not driving, riding in a vehicle. With an increasing number of vehicles on the road, accidents are becoming more common. While it is impossible to avoid and prevent all incidents, a large number of them can be prevented with the right tools. Promoting driver education courses, enforcing traffic regulations, and instilling advanced technology in more vehicles can be helpful tools in decreasing the amount of traffic related deaths. By actively combating negligent driving, the number of collisions and traffic related deaths can dramatically decrease and improve safety on roads.

Driver education courses can be a vital tool in promoting safe driving as well as reducing the number of deaths on the road. These courses enlighten students on rules that they may not be aware of when it comes to driving, as well as how to safely react to multiple driving scenarios. Driver education courses teach drivers to be more aware of their surroundings and how to avoid accidents that may be caused by other irresponsible drivers. Processing this information and applying it in a controlled environment is a safe way to prepare students for driving on public roads and can be beneficial to promoting responsible driving. These classes prove to promote a culture of safe driving that these students then take out with themselves on the roads.

Heavily enforcing laws and regulations set by local and state governments are also affective ways to increase the safety of public roads. Instituting harsh penalties for careless acts such as drunk driving or distracted driving can discourage individuals from repeating those behaviors and reinstitute the idea that one must take responsibility for their actions. This can also reiterate the idea that driving and having the ability to operate a vehicle should be seen as a privilege, given to those who can demonstrate safe and responsible driving. A culture of safe driving can also be maintained with increased law enforcement presence on the road. With the ability to remove dangerous drivers from the road, law enforcement can actively keep roads safer for others and discourage others from violating other traffic regulations. Another step that could be taken is ensuring all drivers have the proper license. Making sure that all drivers on the road have a basic knowledge of traffic rules and laws can reduce the number of accidents due to unlicensed drivers.

Equipping vehicles with advanced technology that assists drivers can be advantageous in the fight against unsafe driving. A multitude of accidents could be avoided if every car was equipped with ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). These systems not only protect the driver, but also force them to become aware of any careless driving habits they may have by actively notifying them. These systems use cameras and sensors to predict potential collisions and prepare the vehicle for any actions that may be needed to avoid them. For example, lane departure warning can alert the driver if the vehicle starts to drift into another lane and make the driver more aware of any distractions that may cause this. Other features, such as automatic breaking, can detect potential accidents and help individuals avoid crashes. While these systems are already in newer models of cars, an increase in these features among other vehicles would not only protect drivers, but also help keep others safe from negligent driving.

As a witness to irresponsible driving, I fully understand the importance of being a safe driver. After hearing family members explain the events leading up to their car accidents, I realized almost all of them could have been avoided if things like cell phones where not in the picture. These experiences have led to me having a greater appreciation of my own opportunity to take driver education courses. By taking this course I not only hope to continue driving safely, but also hope that I am setting a good example for those around me.

While it is unrealistic to prevent all automotive accidents, it is possible to reduce the frequency of them. Understanding the importance of responsible driving is critical in the fight against negligent driving. If steps were taken such as promoting drivers’ education courses, enforcing traffic regulations and increasing law enforcement presence on the roads, and increasing the amount of vehicles with safety technology instilled in them, accidents and traffic related deaths would dramatically decrease. Continuing to work against unsafe driving is an instrumental part of the process to decrease and ultimately eliminate traffic related deaths.