VIEWPOINT—Published in Kalamazoo Gazette
DRIVER’S EDUCATION 2009
As we enter 2009, a confluence of negative factors will impact upon the driving population.
The economy and unemployment will increase the number of uninsured drivers. According to 2006 report of The Insurance Research Council, 15% of drivers nationally were uninsured; 25% in California and Arizona. New study results “ indicate that a single percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a half-point increase in the percentage of uninsured drivers,” said David Corum, council vice president. Rising insurance rates may influence many drivers to reduce coverage levels to that required by law, compounding the situation. Are you aware of your current coverage levels?
It is reported that the number of US highway fatalities through October has dropped by 10% as compared to 2007. However, Americans drove 100 billion miles less due to the economy and high gas prices. When this data is considered, we are really not improving in this area. We are a nation of roughly 200 million drivers most of whom have never taken a defensive driving program since securing licensure at ages 15-17. We also have an attitude that says, “Since I have a license and some driving experience, I don’t need anything else.” “It’s always the other drivers that do dumb, stupid and dangerous things behind the wheel—not me.” Police reported over 6 million crashes in 2007 with 40,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands injured with staggering economic losses. We just “don’t get it.” We calmly accept this scenario akin to “business as usual.” This is your wake-up call.
Driving under the influence of alcohol remains a persistent problem. Rehabilitation, counseling, fines, & increased law enforcement have minimally affected this conundrum. As a society, we like to socially imbibe alcohol. We spend more on booze than on education. Unfortunately, this lesson is learned and witnessed early on by our children. Alcohol related crashes account for about 40% of mortality-30% in teen deaths. The teen problem is exacerbated by increasing use of prescription drugs alone or often in combination with alcohol or other illicit or Rx drugs. Our community recently experienced increase in reported teen drug related deaths. Many teens enjoy easy access to alcohol and/or drugs at home. In too many situations teens incur minimal or no parental oversight enabling poor behaviors. The blame belongs primarily at home—not with the schools. I am not aware of any available data regarding teen drug &/or alcohol use as it relates to vehicular crashes. However, we know that prescription drug, meth & alcohol use is rampant in the teen population and also that the 16-20 age group has 4 times the accident mortality rate compared to any other age group. We are on dangerous ground.
We have only looked at the “tip of the iceberg” so far. As winter is upon us, I want to ask all of us to focus on just 2 areas for improvement:
1. Speed---speed kills—no doubt about it. We are consistently bombarded by commercials, advertisements as well as NASCAR and other racecar drivers all embracing and extolling speed as something desirable. Do you routinely speed? How much over the limit do you drive-10, 15, 20 mph. or more? Are you intolerant of those obeying the posted limit? There is a direct correlation between speed and stopping distances—no degree of skill can change this equation. Police crash reports often cite excess speed as the primary cause.
2. Tailgating—those that commonly practice this common activity have high collision rates & probably pay higher insurance costs. Tailgating and speeding often go together as a disaster package. Can you change? Can you become a role model for your family and others? Get caught tailgating in Germany and your car is impounded for 30 days and you pay a fine of $2000.
Perhaps new and strictly enforced laws are necessary to change driving habits. I do have a level of optimism that believes exposure to, and discussion of this critical situation can have positive results. Now is the time to exercise behind the wheel responsibility.
Marv Berkowitz
Portage, Michigan
Is driving a right or a privilege?
Kalamazoo Gazette Tuesday, April 24, 2007
By Marv Berkowitz
Is driving a vehicle a right or a privilege? Many European countries consider driving a privilege and require often costly, extensive classroom instruction plus behind-the-wheel training to earn a license. There is usually zero tolerance for driving ``under the influence,'' with heavy fines and license forfeiture.
In the United States, it is relatively easy to secure (and hard to lose) a license by age 16. High school driver's education has essentially been removed from the curriculum or outsourced to private driving schools. These private schools have changed little over the last 20 years and are of minimal value.
For most of us, this is where driver training ends: No updates or refresher courses; no primers on changes in safety and handling features of newer vehicles; no ``hands-on'' experience driving with a trained instructor to develop accident-avoidance skills.
Why is this important? In 2005, more than 43,000 Americans died on our roads and highways. According to the August 2006 issue of Auto- Week magazine, 2,600 troops were killed in Iraq for the 41-month period beginning in March 2003. ``During the same 41-month period, more than 22,000 teenagers, ages 15 to 19, died in traffic accidents on U.S. roads.''
It is also quite difficult to go more than a day without hearing about a local fatal teen accident. There are a plethora of local, regional and some national teen driving skills programs (listings can be found at AutoWeek.com). Some are free, others have moderate to expensive fees, but all have value. Insurance companies often provide discounts for satisfactory completion of many of these programs. Some insurance and car companies provide useful literature for both teens and parents.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has developed an ideal set of graduated driver licensing requirements that have been adopted by 44 states. These requirements include more hours driving with a parent, an extended learner's permit period, and certain other restrictions. Certainly these programs are beneficial but despite all these efforts, teen and total fatalities continue to increase.
What's the real story? Conventional wisdom argues that teens feel immune, invulnerable and impervious to the perils intrinsic to driving: ``It won't happen to me.'' Teens love to speed and excessive speed is the great killer. Teens just lack maturity and understanding and cannot weigh the benefit/risk ratio of their actions.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, ``You might help a teen avoid dumb behavior by nurturing intuition,'' Sharon Begley illuminated a contrarian's viewpoint. She stated that Keith Stanovich of the University of Toronto challenges the conventional wisdom in a recent issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest. He argues ``Adolescents don't tend to underestimate the probability of major risks, nor (do they generally have) feelings of invulnerability.''
Valerie Reyna of Cornell and Frank Farley from Temple University write in this same journal that ``interventions stressing accurate risk perceptions are apt to be ineffective or backfire because young people already feel vulnerable and overestimate their risk.'' Their (Reyna and Farley) evidence from 300 studies on adolescent risk-taking strongly undercuts the conventional wisdom that teens tend to underestimate the bad consequences of risky behavior.
Whatever position you elect to support, we need to consider additional factors as part of the equation. About 30 percent of teen fatalities are alcohol-related (40 percent for all drivers). Teens are abusing prescription drugs (from parent's medicine cabinets) as well as other illegal substances.
We also have to factor in the multitude of driver distractions endemic to teen driving such as use of cell phones, grooming, eating and drinking, loud music, boisterous passengers, etc. Just two additional peers in the car increases accident chances by 300 percent.
How do parents fit into this picture? Of all the programs I have reviewed, only Toyota Teen Driver requires parental participation. What if parents are really lousy drivers who speed, tailgate, demonstrate aggressive tendencies, disobey traffic signs and signals, etc.? Parents must be involved and enter into contracts spelling out what is expected from both parties (as per the Toyota program).
The BMW Car Club of America and the BMW Education Foundation have conducted a teen ``Street Survival'' defensive driving program for over four years and will conduct 50-plus sessions nationwide in 2007. This excellent, affordable program has both classroom and real world driving components. In a variety of conditions, teens drive and maneuver their own vehicles with certified instructors. The Mercedes-Benz Club of America (www.mbca.org) may soon become partner in this effort.
According to AutoWeek, `` by the year 2030, we'll have 70 million people in the United States over age 65. That's twice as many seniors as today and their percentage of the licensed driving populace is expected to climb from just over one in 10 today (11 percent) to one in four.''
Older drivers also need hands-on, behind-the-wheel professional driving instruction. They need to know the capabilities and limits of their vehicles. They need to be re-tested periodically after a certain age.
Although we all have diminishing coordination, hearing, eyesight and mental acuity with age, many senior drivers are adamant about their ``right to drive,'' and will not voluntarily stop. Unfortunately, the physiology of aging results in higher fatality rates in senior vehicular collisions.
So, what can we do to address this multifaceted American conundrum? A sea change in attitude is a prerequisite.
Estimates are that our population will reach 400 million in about 32 years with a 9 percent increase in roads but with a 135 percent increase in the number of drivers. The carnage will escalate without decisive actions.
We need a professionally staffed, adequately funded organization to mount a major national effort to reverse our course. This multifaceted problem requires ``out of the box'' approaches.
Some ideas include: changing licensure laws to require more initial training and probationary periods, zero-tolerance driving under the influence laws, re-testing after, say, age 75; media messages and foundation supported national awareness and advocacy programs; Web sites and blogs aimed at teens; developing a cadre of expert speakers to address schools, parent-teacher groups, senior organizations, Rotary, Chambers of Commerce and any and all groups that will sit still for a presentation and discussion.
We all need to become passionate on this subject and become dedicated to constructive changes in our driving habits. Is driving a right or a privilege? Hopefully, the answer to this question will lead us down the right path.
It is again that time of year when teens have the urge to drive somewhere, anywhere, often without a specific destination in mind. This passion for the road can lead to unintended and often severe consequences. It is well documented that teens, especially the 16-17 year group has about 4x the accident rate per miles driven as compared with non-teens. About 6,000 teens die each year in vehicular collisions. They top the mortality charts and are responsible for killing or injuring many non-teens along with property destruction and huge economic costs.
Some experts say that teens feel immune and indestructible; others say teens truly understand the risks-- but are willing to take them. Teens also have relatively little difficulty in obtaining access to both alcohol and prescription drugs—the use and abuse of the latter is rapidly increasing. What to do?
Parents need to recognize the current situation and become pro-active in establishing ground rules for driving behavior and then ensuring that the rules are followed. Allstate Insurance (Allstate.com/community) and Toyota (toyotadrivingexpectation
s.com) have Teen/Parent contracts on their websites that delineate specific responsibilities. Parents need to prevent access to alcohol and Rx drugs that can be abused (cough and cold preparations containing DMX, Vicodin and MDMA commonly called ecstasy). A University of Michigan study reported that 30% of 12th graders said they had been drunk at least once over the past 30 days. Active, decisive parental involvement is critical to gain control of this malady affecting our youth.
Want to provide defensive driver training for your teen? One excellent program for teens is “Street Survival” sponsored by Tire Rack/ BMW Educational Foundation (Streetsurvival.org). This full day course has classroom and behind the wheel training and covers the waterfront. It is also quite affordable and practical. I have had personal experiences as a volunteer instructor.
The bottom line is that parents and teens need to adopt and demonstrate a new, conservative--defensive strategy for a safe driving summer.
Author of “Take Back Our Roads--How To Survive On Our Streets and Highways,” (
www.Createspace.com/3341679) or (Amazon.com)