Assignment 16: Olivia Klee

Driving Is Not a Joke (But Kentucky's Licensing Process Is)

Congratulations! You’re finally ready to take your drivers test! You’ve probably called our office forty times and had to wait six months, so you should be prepared! As your test administer, I will be riding with you around a small neighborhood for nine minutes, and I’ll have you do some fancy parking so that I can declare you a competent driver! What’s that? You’ve never gone more than twenty-five miles an hour? No big deal! I won’t be able to tell! Never been driving in rain, fog, snow, or ice? I’m sure you can figure it out! Did you forge the whole practice log? Don’t worry! I’m sure you can still pass! Gotta get that orange sticker!

This scenario might seem ridiculous, but it’s the reality of the licensing process in Kentucky. It’s no wonder that WalletHub, a financial data website, ranked Kentucky runner up for the most teen driving fatalities by state. According to the CDC, motor vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for teens. The number one risk factor? Not knowing how to drive.

So what can we, a class full of nerdy academy kids, do to stop this? For one, we take it upon ourselves to excede the grossly inadequate requirements for getting a license in Kentucky, we can avoid distracted driving, and we can stop ourselves and our friends from getting in the driver’s seat while impaired.

So to those of you who have your restricted license, how many of you know that you have to come to a complete stop at stop signs? Good. Just making sure. How many of you know what to do when a deer runs out in front of your car? How many of you have practice regaining control of a car that’s skidding on ice? Anyone? And yet, don’t we all see deer in Kentucky? Doesn’t it snow here? Based on the CDC's findings, 2000 16-19-year olds die each year due to motor vehicle accidents. This is not a joke.

Vanderbilt University concluded that for automatic skills like driving, you learn best by actually doing the activity. So don’t forge the practice log! If you just can’t stand driving with your parents, find an older friend or sign up for Boone Driver’s School. The Fayette County Attorney’s Office offers classes that will teach you to drive defensively, even on snow and ice. Although these courses may be costly, the knowledge and skills that they provide are worth far more than the expense. Just think of all the deer we could save if we all took one extra class! We know from The Teenage Brain that teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations and to make critical decision errors that lead to severe crashes. This means that you have to practice until you feel ready, and then practice some more. Even licensed drivers should practice driving in stressful situations with guidance from an adult because as we’ve already established, just passing the roads test proves nothing. Work up to driving in more difficult conditions like rush hour traffic, busy highways, fog, or rain. Trust me; you don’t want to learn to merge by trial and error.

The second thing we can do to reduce the number of deaths on the road is to avoid distracted driving. Reggie Shaw was on his way to work one morning, on a road he had been driving for years, on a road he had been texting and driving on for years. He looked down at his phone to send a text. In that second, he crossed the centerline and hit another car head-on, killing two people. The man in the car behind him rear ends Shaw and suffers multiple herniated disks, destroying his career as a horseshoer. Shaw, the driver that caused the collision, said this in an interview: “All I can think about is their families. While I was driving, I decided that texting and driving were more important to me than those men were to their families. It’s been seven years, and it’s still very difficult. If I had put my phone away, I would have saved those two people’s lives.”

This is not a joke. CDC reports show that three thousand people die in crashes involving distracted driving each year. That would be three thousand avoidable deaths if we all focused on the road. While Kentucky’s lackadaisical penalties for texting and driving may not scare you, the potential damage to another human being should. Use hands-free calling if you have it, or pull over to send a text. Make a playlist of songs instead of always messing with the radio. Let your friends know that you never text and drive, so if you don’t answer, just call or assume you’re on your way.

The third thing we can do to reduce the number of deaths on the road is don’t drive while impaired! Notice I didn't say don’t drive while under the influence. According to the National Sleep Foundation, driving while sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving drunk. In fact, after being awake for eighteen hours, your driving is equivalent to someone who has had three beers. That’s teetering on the edge of too intoxicated to drive. It’s not a joke. Pull over, lock your doors, and take a twenty-minute nap, or stop and buy a coffee or other caffeinated drink. While it may be tempting to try and push yourself to arrive on time, you have to consider what’s more important; your safety or your punctuality?

And finally, I know that Partying 101 is the most anticipated class in college, and maybe some of us overachievers take AP Partying in high school, but inexperienced drinkers combined with a higher degree of risk-taking in groups is a recipe for disaster. Every fifty-one minutes, someone dies in the US because one person decided they were sober enough to drive. It’s not hard to choose a designated driver for after the party, call an uber, or agree to all walk home together.

So today we have discussed three issues and how to prevent them: 1.) Merely passing Kentucky’s drivers test proves nothing. We are all responsible for learning to drive safely, even under challenging conditions. 2.) Texting while driving is never okay. One text can mean the difference between life, life in jail, or death. 3.) Driving while impaired, whether that be high, drunk, stoned, hammered, sleepy, or otherwise, is not safe. Thank you for your attention and remember this is not a joke.

Bibliography:

Werner Herzog, director. From One Second to the Next-Texting While Driving Documentary. Youtube, AT&T, 9 Aug. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk1vCqfYpos.

“Motor Vehicle Safety.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Oct. 2017, www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html.

Weatherly, Karl. “Salmon River to Sun Valley, Idaho.” Travel + Leisure, Affluent Travel Group.

MLASchweizer, Tom A. et al. “Brain Activity during Driving with Distraction: An Immersive fMRI Study.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7 (2013): 53. PMC. Web. 9 Dec. 2017.

Blaszczak-Boxe, Agata. “Best and Worst States for Teenage Drivers.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 18 June 2014, www.cbsnews.com/news/best-and-worst-states-for-teenage-drivers/.

“Safe Winter Roads | Safety.” Safe Winter Roads RSS, 2011, www.safewinterroads.org/safety/.

“Study Gives New Meaning to ‘Let Your Fingers Do the Walking.’” Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, 4 Dec. 1970, news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/12/04/automatic-typing/.

“Drowsy Driving vs. Drunk Driving: How Similar Are They?” National Sleep Foundation, 2017, sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/drowsy-driving-vs-drunk-driving-how-similar-are-they.