Driving: A Necessity of Regulations

Driver education is important in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving because the better-educated people are about the laws of the road and the more aware they are of the penalties for breaking the regulations, the less likely they are to violate these laws and thus possibly cause accidents. Fewer people running red lights, because they are aware of the possible fines levied against them, means fewer possibilities of cars crashing at intersections due to pathways crossing with each other at the same time, which in turn results in fewer fatal accidents for all drivers on the road, for example. The driver’s education defines their awareness of the road, and the more aware they are of the road, the less likely they are to intentionally or unintentionally cause driving-related injuries and deaths.

Education is one of a few steps which can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. The first step is to address the law, which forms the foundation of all driving regulations. Creating and enforcing stricter regulations would prevent more deaths as drivers have fewer chances to cause driving-related deaths, such as more traffic lights and harsher speeding fines to reduce the speeds that reckless drivers accelerate through our roads and cities. The second step is to spread the knowledge of the law and proper driving etiquette to the target audience – the drivers and prospective drivers. This is done through more extensive education courses, both online learning and testing and in-person driving sessions. By producing better-educated and better-experienced drivers, the overall standard of drivers rises. Finally, the last step is to push for better public awareness of both the dangers of driving and the steps the DMV is taking to reduce driving-related deaths. The more the public is aware of the dangers of driving, the less likely vulnerable groups are to participate in possibly risky activities, such as teenagers (the age demographic group with the highest rates of car crashes) and the elderly (the age demographic most likely to perish if impacted with a massive, heavy vehicle of iron and steel). Together, these three steps address the three main sources of driving death problems – the law, the drivers, and the populace as a whole, and attempt to fix them by raising awareness of stricter laws. This raised awareness, coupled with stricter laws, would lead to fewer drivers accidentally causing driving accidents, such as by having to stop for more red lights instead of speeding through empty roads, and thus reduce the number of deaths related to driving.

I have seen family members driving irresponsibly, many times. My aunt is a particular, frequent participant in irresponsible driving, often texting or calling while driving on the road. She oftentimes takes calls for family and friends while driving on the freeway through the city of Los Angeles, and takes texts while driving through the streets of Los Angeles, while also responding to them in real-time instead of waiting for the next red light or until we have reached our destination (usually a restaurant to meet with the rest of our family). These calls can extend for upwards of ten or twenty minutes at a time, and she takes her eyes off the road for over five seconds per text message. This duration of time spent responding to each text, compounded with the fact that our family uses text a lot to communicate over long distances and oftentimes in “flurries” of texts to each other (groups of texts sent one after another in rapid succession which requires more than thirty seconds to read through) means she can spend just as much time with her eyes on the road as she does with her eyes on the phone, and that does not even mention her hands. Proper driving is done with two hands, one at the two o’clock position and one at the ten o’clock position, and yet she often drives with just one hand (the left hand typically stationed around nine o’clock) while the other hand rapidly taps on her phone’s screen to respond to texts, or holds up her device to respond to calls.

I can help myself to become a better and safer driver and help others become safer on the road by enforcing a no-electronic-usage policy for vehicles I am in. While I am driving, I can ensure my electronic devices (phone and laptop) are turned all the way off, to reduce the noise notifications make from these devices. This reduction of noise will reduce the number of distractions I take in while driving, allowing for better concentration on the road and other factors required for driving (such as control over the pedals, an underestimated skill). And when this is applied to others when driving (such as my previously mentioned aunt), this will greatly reduce the duration of unsafe driving time, making her a safer driver on the road. Thus, this will also reduce the likelihood of others like my aunt who constantly text and drive becoming the causes of car crashes and the like, since the distraction of texts and calls have been reduced or nullified, allowing for more of their focus to be diverted to driving.