During calendar year 2000, 41,821 people died in 37,409 collisions involving 57,403 motor vehicles. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the total cost to society exceeded $150 billion—and that’s assuming a value can be placed on human life.
Contributing to the death toll are alcohol, speed, lack of seatbelt use, and plain old bad driving. We all see accidents and near misses caused by pre-occupied drivers weaving across lanes, stopping abruptly in the middle of an intersection, or braking too late for a red light because they were dialing their cell-phone.
What’s the problem: life’s distractions, poor signage, conversations with passengers, or rising cell-phone use? Strange as it sounds, the buck stops at the beginning: inadequate driver education.
In some states, acquiring a driver’s license is akin to ripping…
