Conviction: The Underlying Component to Safe Driving

It’s important to understand that every time we get into a car, we’re putting ourselves at risk: at risk of rage, danger, and potentially irreversible consequences. It’s easy to get comfortable when driving because as time goes on we begin to think that we’re in total control. We can convince ourselves that because we’ve never experienced a wreck, we don’t have to be active in avoiding one. Yet this is exactly what so many people think before they’re in the one that ruins their life or someone else’s for good. We must be wary of those bad habits that seem to work until they don’t. How do we make sure we’re properly aware of this? Driver’s Education.

In order to navigate the roads, you have to know what controls the flow of transportation. This means not only that one must understand the signs, symbols, and laws that conduct driving behavior, but one must also be conditioned to pay attention to them in the first place. This is what Driver’s education gives us on top of the knowledge itself. A driver might know what every sign means, but one evening after driving for many years, distracted by music, and trying to get back to a message from a friend, they find themselves distracted and speeding. All of a sudden they’re going too fast to stop at a red light and think “I’ll just keep going” and then boom, just like that, another life is off the planet because of simple mistakes of habit when we get too comfortable driving. Driver’s Education is absolutely necessary in order to condition safe driving habits and combat bad ones.

Another important element that Driver’s Education provides is the opportunity to learn from and model after a teacher. I was able to practice driving from an incredibly detail-oriented and encouraging instructor, Mr. Stucker, who left me with habits that I continually follow because of my experience with and respect for him. Driver’s Education isn’t just about what’s being taught, it’s about how instructors can leave students with memorable habits due to the unique environment of learning to drive a car.

In order to reduce the high number of deaths that result from driving, we must uphold a culture of driving that is exceedingly aware of its risks. It doesn’t have to be a harrowing experience, but one that communicates a way of thinking like “it’s time to drive, I will make sure not to get distracted and avoid engaging with others vengefully.” We must remind each other that getting too comfortable with one’s past experience of getting from point A to point B successfully doesn’t mean that every future trip will be the same way. This is exactly the kind of thinking that makes people take more and more risks while driving. I feel that if people were thoroughly aware of just what they have to lose every time they get behind the wheel, they would think twice before driving carelessly.

One night in college, I was talking to a friend who casually mentioned they were about to drive back home after they had just been drinking and I was shocked. At first, I didn’t know what to say, but then I realized that if we’re to make our driving culture safer, it takes uncomfortable confrontations with your friends. I’d rather deal with the discomfort of that conversation over the anguish of losing them any day of the week. I sat down with him and essentially said in a hundred different ways how irresponsible it would be. Afterward, he himself acknowledged the dangers and ended up staying the night.

Thinking back on what actually informed my attitude against unsafe driving, I remember it being those days of Driver’s Education when we were exposed to the stories of car crash victims. As depressing and disturbing as the media can be, it’s what most effectively left me horrified by the idea of driving irresponsibly. If I ever find myself driving less responsibly, I’ll remind myself of the stories of those who suffered the consequences of their own or someone else’s mistakes and be thoroughly reminded of my old conviction.

In order to cultivate a safer driving culture, I will even share these stories with my friends so they too will feel more obligated to drive safely. One can never dispute the necessity of habits like wearing a seatbelt, lowering the volume of your music, and avoiding multitasking while driving, but what motivates sticking to these habits is an underlying conviction that we must dedicate ourselves to maintaining. In order to be a safer driver, I will make conscious efforts to keep my conviction alive that unsafe driving is extremely dangerous. If I see my friends exhibiting unsafe behavior then I will make sure to voice my sincere concern in order to build the conviction in them as well.

Ultimately, it’s all about sustaining the belief that we must never give up active alertness when driving and refuse anything that takes us away from that state of mind. Good habits, as important as they are, are only the observable elements of a conviction that must never be forgotten. It’s this conviction that will result in fewer deaths, fewer permanent injuries, fewer broken families, and more responsibility on our roads.