One glance

Leon
Daniel Köhler

03/30/2020

One
glance

In
the Driver’s
Seat
– Scholarship application

“Please, put your phone
away! Look ahead!”. My father just used his phone while driving
on the German “Autobahn”; There is no speed limit on these
high ways in Germany. We drove with almost 150 km/h. A crash would be
fatal, for sure. Fortunately, nothing happened during the glance.

But this does not need to be the
case every time – The numbers speak for themselves. In 2012, in the
U.S. alone, over 30,000 people died in a car accident. The impact of
alcohol, the wrong usage of streets, too much speed, small distance
between cars, ignoring the priority of other vehicles, mistakes when
overtaking, and mistakes when changing heading (like turning, or
driving backwards) are the seven main accident producers (*1). A lot
of them occur because of phone usage while driving. The victims did
the same as my father. However, they glanced in the wrong second.

The problem is the “I am an
invincible driver”-mentality. “It happens to others, but it
will not happen to me, because…” well. There exists no
“because”- A driver, no matter how skilled, is most often
helpless in a crash on a high way. There is no distinction. Everyone
is at risk.

I believe that the solution on
how to decrease accidents lies in education. If governments around
the world are required to inform drivers of how dangerous only a
short distraction can be, it will safe lives.

There are a few measures
governments can start to implement right now. Television sequences of
recreated fatal crashes due to phone use are probably eyeopening for
some viewers. They will think twice about answering a message while
driving. Unfortunately, this will not be effective for everyone.

The following idea might be
controversial, but I still want to include it as an effective
measure. For every new driver, an hour in a driving simulator needs
to be booked. In this hour, the applicant needs to drive on a busy
high way. Then he/she will receive a black-screen for a small amount
of time (e.g., half-a-second). This time-period will simulate the
time distracted by a phone. The likelihood of a simulated car
accident is now significantly higher, and the applicant will observe
how dangerous a short glance actually is. This kind of education is
enormously more powerful because the applicant undergoes the loss of
control in first person.

To sum up; Every year, thousands
of drivers lose their lives on the roads. Phones, radios, or
navigation systems are common causes. However, these lives can be
spared by eliminating these usages to a great extent. Possible
measures include the influence of media (e.g., Television), but also
more effective actions like simulating a loss of control, to prevent
it in the real world. Both actions will reduce fatalities and will
make the roads safer.

I, for myself, know that my phone
will be in silent mode for the duration of all drives. This
dramatically reduces the risk of me getting involved in a car
accident.

*1
(https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Verkehrsunfaelle/Tabellen/fehlverhalten-fahrzeugfuehrer.html;jsessionid=407ABA406D8201FB99E6CADDCC308122.internet742)