Reduce Distractions, Improve Driving

A sound, a daydream, a sight, a scent: each of these can cause a distraction. Distractions hurt our ability to focus in many areas of our lives. If we are talking in class, we can miss the directions the teacher gives for the test. If we get on our phones, we may loose track of time and stay up too late which would make us too tired to function the next day. If we start a movie before we do our chores, we may forget and then the dog does not get its walk or the trash doesn’t get taken out. Each of these distractions have consequences but no area of our lives suffer more from being distracted than when we are driving.

When I took Driver’s Education, I did not realize how much it would teach about things that make us bad drivers. I thought the class would just be about what we needed to do to know how to actually drive a car. After taking the class, I now know a lot of what causes accidents is not even because of whether we physically know how to drive a car or not but whether or not we are focused when we are driving. During driver’s ed, I learned about the types of distracted driving. I also learned examples of each type of distracted driving. For example, I learned daydreaming or worrying about something that happened the day before is a type of distraction called cognitive distraction. I learned cognitive distractions include anything that takes our minds off of fully focusing on the act of driving. Again, we may know how to drive just fine, but by daydreaming or worrying, our minds are not fully focused on the road which could result in an accident. The class also taught me about visual distraction which take my eyes off of the road. Things like checking GPS, looking at my phone, or even trying to find something I dropped distracts me from seeing everything I need to see when I am driving which could cause an accident. Manual distractions are probably the worst right now and include using our phones to text. Texting while driving is a huge distraction and results in deaths every year. Driver’s education is necessary in helping new drivers understand not just how to drive safely but how to avoid distractions that commonly cause avoidable accidents each year.

To reduce the number of deaths caused by distracted driving each year, we need to continue to make sure new drivers succeed in driver’s education. We need to continue to teach the types of distracted driving. We also need to make sure new drivers see the real results of distracted driving by showing the aftermath of accidents caused by texting or driving while tired. Partnering with organizations like MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, would also be a helpful way to reduce the number of deaths caused each year. Improving technology in cars so that phones do not work while the car is in motion would also help to reduce distracted driving and deaths. Also, continuing to improve safety measures in cars, like air bags, will help. Finally, implementing harsher consequences for things like texting and driving will also help reduce deaths each year.

Even though I have not personally been in an accident, my dad and my sister where in one three years ago. My dad was taking my sister to school and was crossing under a traffic light. At the last second and unexpectedly, the car at the light that was waiting to turn left suddenly decided to turn. My dad did not have time to stop, so he hit her as she tried to turn left. Her car flipped and my dad’s car spun around a few times before stopping. Every air bag in his car deployed. The airbags in the other driver’s car deployed, as well. When she was interviewed, she said she was thinking and worrying about being late to work. She was distracted by her thoughts and did not even see my dad. Thankfully, all of the safety measures in both cars worked and everyone was okay. My sister was really shaken up and was scared to ride in the car for almost a year. It was very scary for our family.

I can be a better and safer driver by using what I learned in driver’s education. I can commit to not driving while I am distracted. I can keep my phone off and away. I can avoid taking my eyes off of the road. I can try to turn off my worries until I am not driving. I can make sure I am fully focused while I am driving so I do not cause myself or others to go through what my dad and sister went through. Driving is a privilege not a right and to keep my privilege I have to treat it as something I have to earn by doing to right thing every time I drive.