The Responsibilities of Drivers

The world of driving is a world full of distractions. There are swerving drivers, bright lights, dark nights, a bright sun, and many other factors that can influence your driving capabilities and the welfare of yourself and others on the road. In order to lower the casualties of driving-related deaths, we must raise awareness of the dangers and etiquette of driving a car.

Many people are unaware of the “rules of the road”, and drive as if they are the only ones that are going to be affected if an accident occurs. Or they believe that it is very unlikely that they will get into an accident, when there are millions of drivers around the world, what are the chances that you could get into an accident? But you can never be sure that you are safe from the dangers of the road. We need to show people that they can be harmed, and show them the proper driving techniques and etiquette of the road, so that there will be less chance of an accident. With the education of the general public about the true ways to drive, (speed limit, regulatory signs, pulling over for ambulances, how to act when passing a wreck, and more) we can decrease the total fatalities of the driving world and help make it safer overall.

We can also help to motivate people to drive safely by providing benefits for a certain number of years for “safe” driving. This would help to improve the outlook on certain rules of driving. We could also show the impacts of accidents on the families of the victims, and even whoever created the accident, to discourage people from driving irresponsibly. One last step that could be taken would be to reduce phone use in a car. Whether that be installing an update that would turn the phone off if you were driving, or having periodic cameras that scan to see if there was phone used by the driver; this would help to reduce accidents a lot, seeing that in the US alone, more than three thousand died from phone use in their car. Overall, there are many other solutions that can be found to reduce the probability of accidents, we just have to come together in order to prevent the deaths of thousands of people.

I have never been in or had a family member go through an accident, but I have seen the enormous impact of it on their family. There have been so many devastated families that have had their lives turned around by an irresponsible driver, too much alcohol, phones, thrill-seeking friends, or just a simple trip to go to the grocery store. There is so much pain just from a tool that was created for easy transportation, it is not the car that causes the problem, but the irresponsible people themselves.

For example, my dad is a crazy driver. He is always passing people (and sometimes goes into the other lane to do so), running red lights, exceeding the speed limit, and not stopping at stop signs. I always point these things out to him, but he only claims that he is “showing me what not to do”. I believe this is the mentality of many drivers, they do not care about what they are doing, as long as they do not have to deal with any consequences, get to work a few seconds earlier, or pass that very slow person on the highway. But there are consequences to our actions, they may not happen now, but what about the next time that you drive? When you get away with being irresponsible, you continue to do it until the consequences are revealed. This mentality can be extremely dangerous and can bring about the harm of many innocent bystanders.

The world is so concerned with temporary satisfaction that they are blinded to the plight of others and the potential harm that they can bring upon them. We need to raise awareness that the world does not revolve only around them, there are others on the road, and we need to be conscious of them and them of us. In order to better the driving world, we need to stand up to those irresponsible drivers and get them the help that they need to overcome their “need for speed”, and put the safety of others before their need to have fun or be on time. You can make a difference, you just have to stand up, and if we all stand up together, a difference can be made.

Overall, it is important to learn the true way to act on the road, so that we can alleviate the dangers of driving and help keep families and their children together. We must learn to stand up to those who are reckless, or have patience if you are a rash driver. If we learn to coexist in this way, we can truly help to make this world a safer place, where driving can be seen as a convenience and not a danger.