The CDC website attributes the third leading cause of death in the United States to accidents, a category which includes motor vehicle related deaths. With each year, cars are getting bigger, their headlights are getting brighter, and more people are driving recklessly. Some people may believe that driving today is safer because of all the advancements that have been made, however there are still considerable risks that drivers face today to keep safe on the road. As a result, I believe there is a heightened need for thorough drivers education training for everyone, retesting, and a responsibility for car manufacturers to do their part to reduce driving-related deaths.

As mentioned above, one of the more obvious solutions is to improve the quality of drivers education courses. This includes more carefully designed training that highlights the risks of unsafe driving. A very impactful way to emphasize this would be to have real people come into classrooms who were impacted by a car accident. This could also be made a part of the sentencing irresponsible drivers are given in order to encourage them to drive safer. Seeing a person and hearing them firsthand can be harder to ignore than the videos I remember being shown in my own class. Another unpopular but possible solution could be to retest drivers every decade to renew their licenses. Most people tend to only learn the rules of the road in order to pass but soon after begin to become lax in applying them consistently. Retesting would help reinforce safer driving habits. Drivers do carry a large portion of the blame for driving related deaths, however I believe car manufacturers do as well. Unfortunately, these manufacturers do not consider size and light intensity when the vehicle is being driven. There currently are not enough regulations placing limitations on either of these two factors. When some cars are too large, they can make it more difficult for their drivers to see others which can lead to more accidents due to their false sense of safety. Similarly, the lights newer cars use are too strong and create an intense glare which can blind and disorient other drivers. All of these solutions can greatly reduce the number of deaths on the road.

Continuing on, my own personal experience does play a role in how concerned I am about drivers safety. My mom had an accident with a large SUV when I was in high school. It was a scary situation because she called me early in the morning saying she was in an accident. She was a few blocks away from home so I snapped awake and ran over to her and called for help. My mom is a careful driver and was coming home from work. She was heading straight down a street when a larger car rolled through a stop sign and turned onto the same street which resulted in a collision. Thankfully she was alright and the car took the majority of the damage but it still was a terrifying experience. Even the most careful drivers can be at risk since they are sharing the road with others who might not be. Every time I drive, I think about what the car looked like and how lucky my mom was to come out of it mostly unharmed, this reminds me to always be careful and stay aware of others.

Considering all of these factors, I believe I can be a safer driver by being aware of my surroundings, having patience, and purchasing cars that don’t make the road more dangerous for others. To expand on why I mention patience, I’ve seen too many concerning examples of what drivers do when they miss their exits, not limited to backing up on the highway and swerving over solid white lines. Patience is important because rash decisions should never be made lightly on the road, they put us and other drivers in unnecessary danger which can lead to tragic consequences. It is equally important to use all car signals and lights every single time even if there is no one else behind us in order to reinforce good habits. I have also been able to help my family members drive safer by letting them know if I noticed anything they could have done differently in an understanding way. By driving safely when others are with me, I believe that is helpful in providing a good example of safe driving practices. 

In the end, every person who is driving has a responsibility to follow all the rules they had to learn when obtaining their license. Driving is a great responsibility that is taken too lightly which is why the mortality rate is too high. By applying any of the solutions mentioned above, there can be fewer casualties that were wholly unnecessary. While there may be pushback against these policies, it can be overcome just as the resistance to seatbelts did. Without a doubt, drivers education is vital to teaching drivers how to drive safely.