Name: Robert Carroll
From: West Valley, UTAH
Votes: 13
Driving
related deaths are an avoidable problem we should work to solve.
Education is one of the most important resources that could reduce
the number of driving related deaths. Almost all crashes could be
avoided by at least one of the drivers. Increasing education would
ensure that all drivers have the knowledge and skills to avoid
accidents and to decrease the severity of accidents they can’t
avoid. This could be achieved by increasing the scope and depth of
drivers ed classes to emphasize not just how to drive safely
and avoid accidents but also how to react in dangerous and avoidable
conditions so that drivers can adapt when things don’t go as
expected. Another way to help achieve this would be to make drivers
ed classes fully publicly funded for both high school students and
adults so that no one would lack the necessary education to keep
themselves and others safe on the road regardless of age or economic
situation.
Another
way to decrease driving related deaths is to simply decrease driving.
This could be done by investing more in public transportation like
high speed trains or even busses driven by skilled professionals. The
United States has a shockingly low amount of high-speed rails
compared to many other developed countries. We have fewer miles of
high-speed rails than Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and
Japan despite having roughly the same population as all of these
countries combined and over 4.5 times their combined area. Investing
in a higher level of public transportation would in addition to
decreasing driving related deaths, would also reduce pollution,
remove barriers to mobility for those who can’t drive or can’t
afford to, and reduce traffic for those who would still choose to
drive.
Perhaps
the most valuable thing that can be done to increase driver safety is
for drivers to personally make more of an effort to drive responsibly
and encourage others to do the same. I was once in a car accident
while I was driving, and my fiancé was present. I was struck in the
side by a car making a right turn as I went straight at a green
light. The speeds were low so luckily no one was hurt. I was not at
fault, but I could have perhaps avoided the accident by seeing it
coming sooner and speeding up slightly when I noticed the other
driver not stopping at the light. Being in that accident, especially
with my fiancé there, really made me consider how I could be safer
on the road to ensure neither she nor I would ever get unnecessarily
hurt in a crash. This kind of self-reflection and effort to drive
more safely, if done by everyone would be a massive step in reducing
driving related deaths. In order to achieve this on a large scale it
is important for everyone to not only do their part by driving
responsibly but also to spread the message and encourage others to do
the same.
