by Clarence Lamberth

Created on: August 07, 2008   Last Updated: June 18, 2010

So, You Think You're A Great Driver?

Most people do in fact believe themselves to be at the very least above average drivers when usually the exact opposite is generally the case. You are probably saying to yourself at this very moment, after reading only the first sentence, "Who is this guy to make such a statement?" The very fact that you're miffed at this point is a strong indication that you're probably not the driver you think you are.

I do have some expertise having driven professionally for near thirty five years and accumulating well over five million miles during that time. Additionally I have built and raced stock cars as a hobby, and was a law enforcement officer for several years. Considering that the average driver in the United States accrues between eight and twelve thousand miles per year, or somewhere between eighty to one hundred and twenty thousand miles in ten years, attaining just one million miles is quite an achievement . Do you get the picture? How long have you been driving? How many miles do you suppose you've accrued totally during the time you've been a licensed driver? Still willing to bet you're as great a driver in reality as you are in your mind? Let's go further.

Over 6 million crashes are reported yearly in the United States which would indicate that somewhere around the same number go unreported. Forty two thousand are killed annually in crash related incidents while five point four million persons are injured. Vehicular crashes cost insurance companies a whopping thirty two point six billion a year on average in medical expenses alone! Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for persons from one to thirty four years of age, and is the single largest factor in on the job fatalities. If you've been driving any length of time at all, you can probably attest through first hand observation to the fact that crashes do occur with alarming frequency.

As sobering and mind boggling as the preceding facts are, many of you instantly attribute them to "things that happen to others" deceived in the false conviction of your own ability. Before casually dismissing that stark data as unnecessary to your ascended status as a driver, please, ask yourself the following questions; How many miles have I driven? What have those miles taught me? How knowledgeable am I really, and how do those aforementioned, unpleasant facts and figures really impact me? Honest answers to those queries could make a dramatic, positive difference in separating

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