2008 Woodie Awards
Safety not a luxury
Brady Turley/Guest Columnist
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
While modern automobiles are always getting better, evolving from mere motorized frames with wheels to cocoons of luxury and safety, it doesn't seem like drivers are developing at a comparable pace.
As the technology required to satisfy today's drivers becomes more and more complex, car costs are increasing dramatically. Cars are now faster, stronger and safer than ever before. A vehicle can dial phone numbers, tell you where to turn, even call for help after you've slammed into a ditch thinking it would be "better" than hitting that deer. All this, and cars are still getting better fuel economy and running for longer periods between maintenance intervals.
We've updated the car again and again, but have we ever thought to update the drivers?
I'll admit, I'm not always the safest person behind the wheel. I call people on my cell phone and even send text messages while driving. (It's a habit I picked up when I was working the closing shift at Taco Bell. Every night, I had a 25 mile drive home on an open two lane road.)
But at least I own up to my own dumb doings. Many drivers make excuses for the risks they take on the road.
As an illustration of this complacency, let's examine a popular Volvo commercial, the one where a driver is puttering down the road when a stack of folders fall onto her passenger side floor. The woman leans over to pick them up just as an alarm sounds off. Thankfully, she looks up just in time to avoid rear-ending someone.
Anyone out there see the problem? If you guessed that this driver is an idiot, you would be correct. There was no immediate harm in allowing the folders to sit on the floor. If she had been a smart driver, she would have left them on the floor, or pulled over to pick them up. One can only guess the excuse she would have made had the alarm not gone off.
This is what pushes automobile technologies today - the curbing of common stupidity.
Engineers are now working on programs that would allow cars to drive themselves. This is real sign of the times, and a frustrating one at that: When a driver feels her need to focus on the road is too much to be bothered with, it's time we reevaluate drivers' education.
In other countries, there is a zero tolerance for alcohol while driving. Some also require more drivers' education than a lap around the block and a few tips on parallel parking.
Here, more intensive driving instruction costs and is not required by law, so most drivers choose not to pursue "higher" education.
If only today's drivers could see that these classes might save their lives, perhaps then they'd be wiling to shell out the cash.
We cannot keep placing the blame on teen drivers, old drivers, road and weather conditions. We cannot ask auto engineers to pick up the slack, as we are all too busy to be better, safer drivers.
It is time we take responsibility and ask what we can do to make today's drivers as safe as their cars.
As the technology required to satisfy today's drivers becomes more and more complex, car costs are increasing dramatically. Cars are now faster, stronger and safer than ever before. A vehicle can dial phone numbers, tell you where to turn, even call for help after you've slammed into a ditch thinking it would be "better" than hitting that deer. All this, and cars are still getting better fuel economy and running for longer periods between maintenance intervals.
We've updated the car again and again, but have we ever thought to update the drivers?
I'll admit, I'm not always the safest person behind the wheel. I call people on my cell phone and even send text messages while driving. (It's a habit I picked up when I was working the closing shift at Taco Bell. Every night, I had a 25 mile drive home on an open two lane road.)
But at least I own up to my own dumb doings. Many drivers make excuses for the risks they take on the road.
As an illustration of this complacency, let's examine a popular Volvo commercial, the one where a driver is puttering down the road when a stack of folders fall onto her passenger side floor. The woman leans over to pick them up just as an alarm sounds off. Thankfully, she looks up just in time to avoid rear-ending someone.
Anyone out there see the problem? If you guessed that this driver is an idiot, you would be correct. There was no immediate harm in allowing the folders to sit on the floor. If she had been a smart driver, she would have left them on the floor, or pulled over to pick them up. One can only guess the excuse she would have made had the alarm not gone off.
This is what pushes automobile technologies today - the curbing of common stupidity.
Engineers are now working on programs that would allow cars to drive themselves. This is real sign of the times, and a frustrating one at that: When a driver feels her need to focus on the road is too much to be bothered with, it's time we reevaluate drivers' education.
In other countries, there is a zero tolerance for alcohol while driving. Some also require more drivers' education than a lap around the block and a few tips on parallel parking.
Here, more intensive driving instruction costs and is not required by law, so most drivers choose not to pursue "higher" education.
If only today's drivers could see that these classes might save their lives, perhaps then they'd be wiling to shell out the cash.
We cannot keep placing the blame on teen drivers, old drivers, road and weather conditions. We cannot ask auto engineers to pick up the slack, as we are all too busy to be better, safer drivers.
It is time we take responsibility and ask what we can do to make today's drivers as safe as their cars.
Be the first to comment on this story