Driving, Education, and You

Each year more than 34,000 people are killed in driving-related accidents (U.S. Department of Transportation, p. 26). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average car weighs over 4,200 pounds, and at 50 miles per hour something that weight can easily cause great harm. With so many casualties each year, all drivers should be properly educated to help avoid potentially fatal situations.

Topics like driving under the influence or situational awareness might sound boring, but when mentioning the probability and consequences of an accident, driving while sober and paying attention sound much more important. Drinking alcohol, using a radio or phone, or zoning out during a drive can cause accidents. Pedestrians and other drivers must assume others are following the rules of the road, and they can only react to the actions of others.

Because of this danger, increased driver education would be ideal for preventing driving-related deaths. Teaching subjects like situational awareness and defensive driving are key in road safety. Unfortunately, there will always be drivers who poorly judge situations, violate traffic laws, or zone out during a long road trip. Not everyone on the road may be interested in following the rules, therefore having the skills to avoid collisions is paramount. If more drivers can detect someone making a bad decision before it happens, more of them will be able to escape those situations.

Even while sober and attentive, under-educated drivers can cause countless dangerous scenarios by not knowing how to avoid collisions. For example, driver #1 forgot to check their blind spot before changing lanes in front of driver #2, risking a collision. If driver #2 was behind driver #1 and did not slow down appropriately, they might also cause a collision. Defensive driving is part of this, and not knowing these defensive skills can exacerbate the consequences of other drivers’ recklessness. Everyone might be trying to follow the rules, but accidents can still happen because someone wasn’t looking. Watching the movements of other drivers, keeping a safe distance, following traffic laws, and remembering to use your turn indicators can help keep everyone safe on the road.

I have not personally been in a car accident, nor have I seen any of my friends or family drive irresponsibly, but I was nearly involved in an accident after a car attempted to turn across my lane at an intersection. They had not been properly checking for an opening in traffic before the turn, and I had to quickly slow and drive around them to avoid a collision. Being able to spot them making an error in judgment and react to it to prevent a collision. In this instance, situational awareness and defensive driving both came in handy, as I was able to see that another driver made an error in judgment that could have resulted in disaster. Had I not been paying attention I may have “tried to make it” by accelerating, something that may have been equally dangerous. These precautions safely reduced my chances of a collision while not disrupting the flow of traffic.

Practice makes perfect, so we all need more practice driving correctly to become better and safer drivers. As part of this, new drivers should always practice paying attention to their surroundings at all times, as they might seriously injure someone if they zone out while on the road. They should also never drive when under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, as the mind-altering effects can lead to dangerous situations. Learning to drive defensively is another important skill to keep us all safe, as being able to react to your surroundings will keep a small problem from becoming bigger, and keep you and others out of harm’s way. Additionally, reviewing the laws on driving and why they were written can be helpful to keep new drivers safe on the road. If nothing else, knowing local laws can help you keep out of trouble, as traffic laws can vary in different localities.

Driving is dangerous, but knowing how to do it correctly can protect everyone on the road. Being sober, attentive, and following traffic laws will allow you to drive without causing or entering potentially dangerous situations. They also keep you from making bad decisions and allow you to react to other drivers. Traffic laws keep everyone on the “same page,” allowing other drivers to more reliably predict your actions. Cars are heavy and fast, making them dangerous and hard to predict. It is everyone’s responsibility to get educated, avoiding more danger on the road.