Driving Safety and the Lack of Accountability

When driving on the road to work, I have seen a lot of things. Incorrect mergers without proper signals, failure to fully stop at a stop sign, people driving while looking at their phones, and the list goes on. It is no wonder that in 2022 approximately 42,500 people died to a motor vehicle accident, according to the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While that statistic is lower than 2021, it is only by less than a single percent. The fact of the matter is that people are not safe drivers. Whether it be from laziness or from a lack of accountability, something needs to be done. The people need to be reeducated.

         When it comes to driver education, the basics when it comes to privilege are usually forgotten. People tend to forget to merge properly or know when it is legal to make a right on red. When we take our driving class and our permit exam, we are forced to memorize the nooks and crannies of every small detail of the laws of traffic safety. There a plenty of traffic accidents that happen because people tend to forget or ignore the regulations of traffic safety. Even without people getting into accidents, it is common to observe people performing traffic violations. I have been extremely fortunate to not see my family members driving irresponsibly, as my parents are very particular about road safety. They taught me important tips for defensive driving, like when pulling up to an intersection, it’s more important to pay attention to the wheels because people won’t necessarily use a turn signal. 

         Even though I have been driving for 2 years now, I feel like I have gotten a bit laxer when it comes to driving. I still pay attention and still follow traffic laws, but I am not as attentive and wide eyed as I was when I first got my license. I ended up getting comfortable driving. One way that I am planning to take a step in being a safer driver is I am reteaching myself the rules of traffic safety. That way I can be one hundred percent sure that I am safe with my driving. 

I am a firm believer that people should have to retake their driver’s license test every so often as a way of making sure that everyone is up to date on traffic laws, and that we don’t have people who are lax with the law. While this isn’t a realistic thing because of all the extra paperwork and legal work that would be added to people’s plates. It is still an idea that I think would go a long way in reducing the number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents. The phrase “how did you get your license?” has been one that has been uttered many times in fits of road rage. Specifically in New York state, when a driver’s license expires, all one needs to do is pass an eye test, which seems so minimalistic. This means that in theory if you don’t get caught, or don’t get into an accident, one does not have to care about traffic laws.

While it would be a good thing for drivers to have to retake the written/ multiple choice exam occasionally, it is not deniable that there are a few negatives alongside it. The first big problem is that time would have to be made for all these exams to be administered, graded, and results factored out. This requires people to look at and manage all the work, and if its computer generated, then people need to run the servers and keep servers up. This all requires resources, which require money. Keeping this service is such a tall order for something government mandated that it would require extra taxpayer dollars. Another issue is that even though a driver’s license can be revoked or expired because of failure to do these new tests, will not necessarily keep the unaware drivers off the road. If they are not caught, unsafe drivers will always put people’s lives at risk. Even still, I feel like the costs would be worth it, as reeducating people on the specific traffic laws would keep people’s minds fresh and would result in people making less traffic violations.

No matter what happens, people will die from traffic accidents. It is a sad reality that we have to accept. But there are ways we can try and lower that death rate. By keeping up with traffic laws, and being more mindful of our own driving, and how other people drive, we can keep ourselves safe, and not a statistic for the years to come.