Creating Public Education And Insurance
ccording to the CDC/CHNS National Statistics, road accidents ranks number four as the major cause of deaths among Americans from 1980 to 2004. Due to the alarming rates in the casualties, especially among the young drivers, many government agencies as well as non-government sectors came up with programs and projects to increase awareness and educate drivers on the proper driving ethics and attitude. Furthermore, insurance companies have also grown like weeds as they have seen the increasing demand on it due to the society’s need of security.
One of the campaigns that was created was Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD, a Texas-based non-profit organization that aims to stop people from driving under the influence of highly intoxicating alcohol, prevent minors from drinking and most especially, to fight for the implementation of a more stricter alcohol policies. Founded in 1980 by Candice Lightner in 1980, whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, it receives federal government funding and donations from concerned citizens and private business sectors. Although it has received many criticisms with regards to how it spends its money, the organization has made significant impact on the decrease of drunk driving and proposed and brought the implementation of some policies regarding alcohol intake and driving.
On the other hand, The National Teen Driver Safety Week established by the US Congress in 2007 is celebrated every third week of October yearly all over the United States to increase awareness among teen drivers ages 16 to 19. This drive was made in response to the alarming death rates among teenagers involved in various vehicular accidents due to over speeding, drunk driving, cell phone use, rowdy multiple teen passengers, driving errors and among others. This move was supported by many sectors such as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, insurance companies and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, to name a few.
DC Comics and Warner Bros. teamed-up together in 2000 and came up with a series of commercials not only to promote brand name awareness to consumers but also to demonstrate and expose the dangers of driving. Although it was an advertisement aimed at increasing the company’s sales, it has also educated the masses while maintaining to be within the realms of reality of the possible dangers of driving without protective gears such as airbags, early warning devices like roadblocks and especially common sense in locating the nearest gasoline and police station and hospital.
If activities and organizations aimed at reducing the incidence of automobile accidents have grown at an unprecedented rate, so are the insurance companies, in an attempt not only to make profits themselves but more significantly to assist people whose lives, safety, security and money are at stake. Insurance brokers relieve you of all the financial and medical responsibilities when you are in the middle of a vehicular crisis be it minor or major one.