Cars are like AIDS: if you don't know how it works, you can make mistakes.
In other words, the gross incompetence of the ill-educated driver can injure or kill people in an accident.
The analogy may be shocking. Unfortunately, it's on the right track.
On July 13, a spokesperson for UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS, announced a marked decrease in the prevalence of AIDS in a certain part of Africa, the most heavily affected region in the world.
The decrease in AIDS prevalence is supposedly due to education and the public awareness campaign aimed at 15 to 24 year-olds. Couldn't that work in the automotive world as well?
Lack of training = ignorance
Today's average drivers undergo little to no training before receiving their licence. And once they've got it? Zip.
And yet, those drivers who take preventive or advanced driving courses afterwards are involved in fewer accidents than the average Joe. It's a proven fact. Unfortunately, the people who "go back" to driving school are few and far between.
I can understand that. The general attitude of the average driver is obviously along the lines of "I have my licence, ergo I know how to drive."
Wrong.
Things change
Cars are constantly evolving, and so is the way we use them. Just think about all those on-board systems that have become standard equipment over the years in even the most humdrum models: ABS, traction control , airbags and inflatable side curtains, adjustable seat belts, cruise control, reverse parking cameras made mandatory by sleeker and sleeker, yet weaker and weaker designs, etc.
To master these systems and make the most of them, you first have to learn and understand both how they work and, especially, their limits. But no one offers this oh-so-necessary training, neither the dealers that sell the cars nor the various levels of government responsible for emitting driver’s licences.
The road network is evolving as well. Roundabouts, for instance, are slowly appearing on our daily commute horizon. But has anyone showed us how to use them? Nope. At best, in some areas signs briefly outlining priority rules have been set up. A message that drivers have to assimilate in a few short seconds – if they've been taught to heed road signs at all!
Regressing drivers
And what about the driver in all this? If you don't receive extra training, you simply fall back on what you already know, or, even worse, regress! I'm not talking about people with Alzheimer's that continue to drive WITH the secret consent of their doctor. No. I'm just talking about the average Joe that, as he gets older, develops driving habits and quirks that he tends to impose on the other users of the road – an environment we are supposed to be sharing. And because our life expectancy is increasing, there will be more and more ignorant and quirky people on our roads.
You'd think government authorities would develop training programs for the drivers they are sanctioning, granting driver’s licences like they're selling chocolate bars. Think again. Instead, they reduce speed limits and plunk down extra stop signs on street corners. This passiveness reflects a desire to write up more traffic violations – a veritable cash cow of indirect taxes!
What really kills?
Does speed kill? No. Incompetence does. There's an easy way to combat the scourge. You have to ensure motorists (at least those who have a high enough IQ or a fairly well-developed social consciousness) understand how a car works and how it behaves on the road. This process would naturally create a sense of pride in knowing that you’re a GOOD driver. It's really not that complicated.
Once we've adopted such a strategy, one that focuses on increasing driver self-esteem through education rather than driver stigmatization, maybe one day we'll see a Canadian speaking for the UN, announcing that the scourge of road accidents in Canada has abated!
Dare I dream?
In other words, the gross incompetence of the ill-educated driver can injure or kill people in an accident.
The analogy may be shocking. Unfortunately, it's on the right track.
On July 13, a spokesperson for UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS, announced a marked decrease in the prevalence of AIDS in a certain part of Africa, the most heavily affected region in the world.
The decrease in AIDS prevalence is supposedly due to education and the public awareness campaign aimed at 15 to 24 year-olds. Couldn't that work in the automotive world as well?
Lack of training = ignorance
Today's average drivers undergo little to no training before receiving their licence. And once they've got it? Zip.
And yet, those drivers who take preventive or advanced driving courses afterwards are involved in fewer accidents than the average Joe. It's a proven fact. Unfortunately, the people who "go back" to driving school are few and far between.
I can understand that. The general attitude of the average driver is obviously along the lines of "I have my licence, ergo I know how to drive."
Wrong.
Things change
Cars are constantly evolving, and so is the way we use them. Just think about all those on-board systems that have become standard equipment over the years in even the most humdrum models: ABS, traction control , airbags and inflatable side curtains, adjustable seat belts, cruise control, reverse parking cameras made mandatory by sleeker and sleeker, yet weaker and weaker designs, etc.
To master these systems and make the most of them, you first have to learn and understand both how they work and, especially, their limits. But no one offers this oh-so-necessary training, neither the dealers that sell the cars nor the various levels of government responsible for emitting driver’s licences.
The road network is evolving as well. Roundabouts, for instance, are slowly appearing on our daily commute horizon. But has anyone showed us how to use them? Nope. At best, in some areas signs briefly outlining priority rules have been set up. A message that drivers have to assimilate in a few short seconds – if they've been taught to heed road signs at all!
Regressing drivers
And what about the driver in all this? If you don't receive extra training, you simply fall back on what you already know, or, even worse, regress! I'm not talking about people with Alzheimer's that continue to drive WITH the secret consent of their doctor. No. I'm just talking about the average Joe that, as he gets older, develops driving habits and quirks that he tends to impose on the other users of the road – an environment we are supposed to be sharing. And because our life expectancy is increasing, there will be more and more ignorant and quirky people on our roads.
You'd think government authorities would develop training programs for the drivers they are sanctioning, granting driver’s licences like they're selling chocolate bars. Think again. Instead, they reduce speed limits and plunk down extra stop signs on street corners. This passiveness reflects a desire to write up more traffic violations – a veritable cash cow of indirect taxes!
What really kills?
Does speed kill? No. Incompetence does. There's an easy way to combat the scourge. You have to ensure motorists (at least those who have a high enough IQ or a fairly well-developed social consciousness) understand how a car works and how it behaves on the road. This process would naturally create a sense of pride in knowing that you’re a GOOD driver. It's really not that complicated.
Once we've adopted such a strategy, one that focuses on increasing driver self-esteem through education rather than driver stigmatization, maybe one day we'll see a Canadian speaking for the UN, announcing that the scourge of road accidents in Canada has abated!
Dare I dream?