Education Isn’t Enough

Education
Isn’t Enough

Savana
Lee

3/30/2020

Cars are
essential to our way of life. They are so normalized in society, we
don’t often recognize we use potential killing-machines daily. To
try and limit vehicle-related deaths, our government has imposed
specific levels of knowledge about the road one must possess before
they take to the streets. Therefore, education is important;
education is one of the first lines of defense drivers are armed
with. However, while education is an important base, other steps need
to be taken to reduce fatalities, including increased accountability,
and personal awareness. 

No
matter what drivers are taught before they enter a vehicle, if they
are not held accountable to traffic laws and have a desire to drive
safely, their education will not help reduce the risk of an accident.
For teens, parents need to continue to monitor and critique their
driving abilities. A valid driver’s license does not validate driving
mistakes. For adults, the mentality of years of experience of driving
is dangerous, and when a mistake is caught and punished by law
enforcement, anger instead of acknowledgement is a common response.
However, when drivers are held accountable for their mistakes, they
will strive harder to not repeat them to avoid the penalty, thus
driving safer. The more accountability they have, not just to the law
but to family and friends will increase as the driver grows in their
understanding that their responsible driving has positive feedback. 

Through
personal experience, I have seen many of my friends driving
irresponsibly, distracted by their phones. I remember feeling upset
and even angry at one friend in particular who would be searching on
social media while driving for long periods of time. When she would
do this I felt she didn’t care for the safety of myself and others
in the car, because she was putting us all at a huge risk by
completely taking her focus away from the road. Eventually, we were
in a small accident when she was driving us, and her response was
fueled by anger for the other driver, overlooking her own mistake
that led to the fender-bender. 

At
the end of the day, we can’t just educate people. That isn’t
enough. People know the traffic rules and regulations, but still
continue to drive irresponsibly. There has to come an individual
desire to drive safer and slower. When that individual decision is
not made, the accountability of the law can be stronger, and we can
hold our own friends and family members accountable for their driving
decisions. The distraction of phones is a very quick solution to
solve, when driving with others, passengers can offer to text in
proxy, or talk on the phone, or even find the song or playlist they
are searching for. By making a personal decision to drive safely and
hold my loved ones accountable for their driving I can improve road
safety, and you can do the same!