These death statistics are horrifying. How many people will kiss their partner goodbye today, step into their car, and never come home? How many children will grow up without their parents, and how many families will lose their breadwinner? These aren’t hypothetical scenarios.
Approximately 94 percent of car crashes involve some form of driver behavior like speeding, distraction, failing to yield or DUI identified as a contributing factor, although this doesn’t mean the driver is always solely responsible — bad roads, confusing or obscured signage, wildlife darting into the road, mechanical failures and other factors play their part, too.
But mostly, the problems lie with us. We aren’t very good drivers. And there is a potential solution: better driver training. If we can fix bad driving, at least partially, we can save thousands of lives.
The mind cannot even comprehend an average of more than 30,000 dead per year, for decades, despite all sorts of safety measures. But these victims are infants, grandparents, heads of families, people of influence and ordinary citizens, the wealthy and the poor. And that figure doesn’t include the nonfatal outcomes, either — the broken limbs; the head, neck and spinal cord injuries; the traumatic brain injuries and other life-changing effects of mostly preventable crashes.
The good news is that cars today are dramatically safer than they were even a generation ago. The auto industry has done an admirable job of outfitting its products with as much safety equipment as possible. Seatbelt use is way up, too.
But here’s what hasn’t improved: the way we train drivers. All that’s required is passing a written test, followed by a 15-minute road test that involves parallel parking, executing K-turns, signaling properly, obeying all signs and so forth.
You’re not required to make split-second decisions at high speeds, to steer out of a sudden skid, to safely drive in fog and snow, to maintain safe driving when you have a loudmouth — or a bee — in the car. Instead, the approach to safe driving is purely reactive instead of preventive.
One of the greatest things about my job is being invited to track events where, over the years, I’ve been taught how to steer out of skids, to drive safely over solid sheets of ice, to understand concepts like weight transfer, tire contact patch (the actual amount of rubber that’s touching the road in different situations) and how different driver input — braking, steering and acceleration — affects car handling. Every time I take one of these courses, I think, “The general public should be taught this stuff, too.”
The other essential part of my training includes driving on racetracks at speeds of up to 140 mph. If you’re distracted for even a millisecond, you’ll crash, so you pay 100 percent attention 100 percent of the time. If we brought that same intensity and extreme focus to life at 30 or 55 miles per hour, the carnage would almost certainly be reduced.
Instead, I’ve seen my fellow drivers on the road eating, drinking, shaving, brushing their teeth, putting on makeup, playing air guitar, fighting, making out and, of course, texting. Despite laws prohibiting that last act while behind the wheel, one sees drivers on the phone every day on the highways.
What’s needed isn’t more laws or fines. The standards for passing road tests clearly need to be ramped up. Manufacturers, in addition to prioritizing safety features, should be advocating for a more competent driving populace. While their technologies help, they shouldn’t be used as crutches for individuals who can’t drive safely on their own. Self-driving or autonomous cars, in terms of taking over the highways for the average person, are years away. According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Mobility Confidence Index Study, U.S. consumer confidence in autonomous vehicles dropped to 37 out of 100, a two-point decrease from the 2022 index score.
It would be wonderful to lower the death rate from 30,000 deaths a year to 25,000 or 20,000. I don’t think anyone thinks we’re going to get to zero. Some people will just be rotten drivers all their lives, and others will always ignore the rules.
But if we change the narrative and empower people to drive safely and skillfully, that’s a start.
What readers are saying
The comments emphasize the need for improved driver training and testing standards in the U.S., with many suggesting that more rigorous and comprehensive education, similar to European models, could enhance road safety. Several commenters highlight the importance of defensive... Show more
This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.
2 comments:
Public transportation, which they have all over Europe, also minimizes traffic deaths. The USA caters to the oil and gas industry instead. Probably part of the reason we went to Iraq as well so... these crazy people trade human life for fossil fuels and the money it makes people.
Trump Republicans only care about money, not human life. You can see that from a wide variety of their decisions. Their economic goals.. shovel every penny ever minted to people who already have mountains of everyone's money.
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