Driving the Education Home On a recent morning, while reading one of the local newspapers I noticed what we all tend to see, some ignore and others forget. One fatal or serious crash of a vehicle after another listed in the news. This particular day they seemed to run from one extreme to the other with all kinds of causes. They read as follows: Man crashes into bridge while on cell phone; Driver shot over misunderstanding with other driver; Drunk driver causes serious accident; Excessive speed kills driver and on and on and on! Wow….and people wonder why we exist. When I read things like this as all of us do, it is very clear that this nation is not paying attention to our leading cause of death. Most of us have been working diligently for many decades to try and curb these problems and teach people the correct ways of driving. It does not happen over night and of course every state does not require driver education at this time. This begins the problem and all the so-called drivers already on our roads who have no form of driver education perpetuate it. We can and must stop this carnage now! This is the year of making a difference beyond what we have already accomplished. Maryland set the stage last year with landmark legislation that will require all people regardless of age to take driver education. There are many people out there at this moment that are working on various issues in many states. Legislation is the only answer and I can tell you that it is a thankless task, which does not always yield results. I have personally been successful in getting legislation passed in several states and sometimes have walked away feeling proud of this accomplishment and the fact that I made a difference. Sometimes however, my best efforts were not good enough or the timing was simply wrong. Don't take an unsuccessful effort as a permanent personal setback. Never accept status quo simply because it seems difficult, when it is you that must do it and only you can make change occur. This is the perfect time to effect new legislation as we continue to spend more than $178,000,000,000.00 a year on vehicle collisions, with more than 40,000 deaths and more than 1,800,000 people seriously injured or disabled in the United States each year alone. This is a world problem and not just something that affects the United States. Any clear thinking person will see what this is doing to our society if the facts are presented thoroughly and well. Make sure you do your research with the insurance industry, local, state or provincial highway research centers and any other sources that are available. All the information you need is a matter of public record and available to you, upon request. Dedicate some time this year to "our" goals. We need standardized road testing, a national drivers license, mandatory driver education for all drivers regardless of age, graduated driver licensing for new drivers and driver improvement course for traffic offenders to name just a few. Lets set a goal of creating and having at least one piece of legislation passed in your state or province this year. This is what DSAA is all about. We educate and help you to create a better environment to teach your students and have a better business tomorrow than you have today. The public will benefit from your greater knowledge and laws that protect them from this carnage, which now exists on the highways of the world. Join us this year in making a difference for our future and don't just wait for change to come. Embrace your colleagues in this industry and let us all work together. Together we can save the world. Back Next