Infographic-A-Day

Students who are high school age are beginning to make major decisions. When they are the younger sibling of a new driver, or when their friends begin receiving their licenses they begin taking trips and traveling more often. They no longer have to wait for their parents to take them places, they can go on their own. For this reason, the chances increase that they may be in a vehicular accident. Aside from this, new drivers are more likely to be in an accident, simply because of experience. It is just like learning any new skill, one will make mistakes and learn from them. But these learning opportunities are more important than any other.

At one point in recent history, drivers ed scared students with videos of vehicular accidents. I know in 2002 I was scared and excited to see them, but the day never came. My school did, however, bring on campus a vehicle that had been involved in an alcohol related accident. One would have had to have walked backwards into the school building, or walked all the way around the building to an obscure exit in order to not have seen it. It was very well placed. While this is no longer the case, my graduating class was the first in 7 years not to suffer a fatality of any kind.

This is why it is important to really show students, in as many ways as possible, the importance of being safe while driving. With the increasing capabilities of mobile devices, it is easier and easier to multitask while driving. Each new generation is getting better at multitasking, making it an increasingly sought after trait in new hires, but this is not a quality that should be practiced in a ton or more of metal and glass.

This infographic shows the number of fatal car crashes on each day in 2010. Using variously shaded blocks, this infographic shows the number of accidents throughout the week. It shows that there are more in the summer months than the winter, and more on the weekends than during the week. Ask students what people may be doing differently on different days to cause more or fewer accidents. Ask students habits that may increase the chances of an accident, and the habits that may decrease the chances of an accident. Keep this infographic up all year, except move it around so it regularly feels fresh. Maybe I wasn’t paying as much attention before, but it feels as though there is another fatal car accident at least every month in my city involving a teenager. Their lives are cut short and the lives of their friends are devastated because of a “fun” idea gone wrong, or a single moment turned away. Maybe this infographic will hit home to some students long enough to instill better driving habits in them.