Be a Better Driver

For starters, taking action now could save your life.  Or your child’s life.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA):  36,096 people died on US roads in 2019. That’s more than 10 times the lives lost on 9/11, yet this subject rarely makes headlines. No one talks about changing the system or enhancing driver training. They simply want the cars to do it for them. Even with safer cars, the number of driver fatalities keeps going up each and every year.

Politicians aren’t doing anything about it.  Anti-texting laws are on the books but are nearly unenforceable.  What needs to happen to reverse this trend?  Let’s start with a healthy dose of personal responsibility.   

It's an experiment I’ve conducted dozens of times. I ask a group of people to raise their hand if they think they’re a better than average driver.  Nearly every person’s hand in the room goes up.  Not only is that statistically impossible, it’s proof that the average motorist is overconfident in their driving skills.

You already know that distracted driving is an epidemic.  How many times have you seen someone looking at their phone while driving? Reading a book?  Putting on makeup?  I once saw a man trimming his toenails while driving!  And it’s not just millennials. I see older distracted drivers on a daily basis.  We’re married to our phones, constantly looking at emails and social media while piloting a two ton chunk of metal down the road at 65, 75 or 80+ mph.

But let’s take a step back and think  - what makes a good driver? Is it lack of accidents?  Few or no speeding tickets?  Ability to drive a car at/near the limit of traction and have complete control and awareness of what the car will do next?  Did you just lower your hand?  

Maybe you should have.

Unless you have a racing license or have spent many weekends at a racetrack, you probably have little knowledge about what your car is or is not capable of at the limits of traction.  What’s worse is, most people don’t see the relevance. 

Driver training could be the difference between living and dying in a potential car accident. 

A frightening statistic: less than 5% of motorists in the United States have had ANY training at all since their initial driving test.  No, simply driving to work and back isn’t training.  Training is learning something NEW, from someone who knows more than you about the given subject.  If you’ve never thought to improve upon your driving skills, you are part of the problem.  It's up to every one of us to become part of the solution.  Even picking up a book can help.  Hiring a driver coach is even better.   And no, I'm not offering to be that coach.  

But I will give you resources to become a Better Driver:

TSEF (Traffic Safety Education Foundation): https://www.trafficsafetyeducationfoundation.org/

(Created by a racing driver, for adults and teens)

Teen Driving Programs:

B.R.A.K.E.S. (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe):

https://putonthebrakes.org/

Tire Rack Teen Survival Training School:

https://streetsurvival.org/