A driving school, is it just for beginners

Some people approach safe driving in Calgary like they would approach a target pistol: point and zoom. This is the case with teen driving; the age group (16 to 19) with the highest incident of road death. Vehicle crashes resulting in teen death have three problematic driving failures: impaired driving (alcohol and drugs), distracted driving (cell phone and texting), and emotional driving (high anxiety). While adults express these same issues, these risks factors are increased significantly with inexperienced driving.

 Teen safety on the road in Calgary should be achieved by emphasizing driving excellence at an early age of driving: proactive and defensive driving rather than aggressive driving under the influence of the factors noted above. 80 percent of all teen deaths caused by these three factors have the added aggressive factor of speed at the root of fatal crashes.

 A related statistic is sobering: Just a one percent reduction in speed would yield a five percent reduction in fatality of teens. That means a teen at the wheel driving problematically at 70 miles per hour would reduce his chances of a fatal crash by five percent just be reducing speed to 69 MPH. Further reduction of speed would have an exponential positive effect on survival. That’s not even the difference between a lead-foot and aluminum.

 Another sub-factor affected by these three factors is that 34 percent of drivers and 40 percent of passengers in fatal crashes are not wearing seat belts.

 Just two life-saving, common-sense cautions would have a significant results: reduction of speed and seat belt use. Both cautions, ignored under the influence of impaired, distracted, and emotional driving, have a preventable effect on one obvious dollar cost to add to the cost of loss of life: driving insurance reduction in Calgary.

 When we turn the car keys over to our teens, it behooves parents to first have a frank and open discussion with them about speed reduction and seat belt use. They need to see simple and effective cause and effect demonstrations. Hold a raw egg about one foot above the kitchen table and drop it. Then hold another raw egg at eye level and drop it on the kitchen floor or outside on the concrete.

 The first egg is a demonstration of the potential injury to the head when not wearing a seat belt in a crash at forty MPH. The second demonstrates the un-strapped head at high speed in a crash. Driving safety in Calgary is that easy to demonstrate when any of us, regardless of age, ignore simple laws of dynamic motion and cause and effect.

 Then, when are teens are sobered by the egg demonstration under any circumstances, it’s time to discuss the serious effects of impairment of alcohol and drugs use, texting and talking distractions, and pent-up feelings of an emotional roller coaster under any circumstances, and how they are fatally affected when behind the wheel.

 Certified driving in Calgary is a privilege, not a right. All drivers must respect the rules of the road and the common sense of driving under complete and safe control of the vehicle.