Defensive Driving: Preventing Tragedy One Decision at a Time

Exercising appropriate driving habits is not just crucial for saving your own life but also for the lives of others. Too many lives have been lost due to reckless, careless, or inexperienced drivers who break laws and ignore road rules. A simple, well-rounded awareness of a few key things can make all the difference in staying safe on the road. First and foremost, understanding federal and local traffic laws is essential for learning the right way to drive. This includes knowledge of road signs, how to navigate roundabouts, safety measures like wearing a seatbelt, and properly positioning your mirrors—just to name a few. These basics are typically taught in driver’s education, but they can easily be overlooked or forgotten. However, it’s not enough to just know these things. With the distractions of modern life, reckless driving is more tempting than ever, especially when everyone has a device that can easily divert their attention. Even if you’re practicing safety measures to the best of your ability, it’s impossible to know if other drivers are distracted or impaired. That’s why it’s important to stay focused and vigilant while driving. Always leave yourself an “out” in case of an accident, like ensuring there’s enough space between your car and the one in front of you. It’s a good practice to drive defensively—if you see a car swerving, not following traffic laws, or looking unstable, avoid it at all costs and keep plenty of space around it. You can never assume everyone is following the rules all the time.

To improve safe driving, one step would be enhancing driver’s education to not only teach driving rules but also cover basic vehicle maintenance to ensure that cars are properly cared for. This includes tire maintenance, handling emergencies, oil and gas procedures, and how to drive in different weather conditions. Keeping a car in safe working condition can prevent accidents caused by mechanical failure. Another helpful program would focus on older drivers. As people age, their ability to drive safely may decline, so offering refresher courses and assessing their driving capabilities can help keep them safe on the road longer.

Furthermore, online programs promoted through social media and on college campuses can help reignite the knowledge learned in driver’s ed. Most people complete their courses around ages 16-17, so a refresher can be helpful for adults in their early 20s, especially when immersed in a college environment with high traffic. Hearing real-life stories from others in the same age group can help put the importance of safe driving into perspective. While getting into a crash is always awful, it’s hard to truly understand the fear of it until you’ve experienced it firsthand.

Two years ago, while driving home from work, I was traveling down the road at about 30 miles per hour in the right lane of a two-lane road when a car stopped next to me, waved someone into a parking lot, and that driver turned right in front of me. His view was blocked by the car that waved him in. I didn’t have time to stop, and he crashed into my front bumper on the driver’s side, totaling my brand-new car—the first car I’d owned, which I’d had for just a month and had already paid off. He made an illegal turn into the exit of a gas station and was driving under the influence. This was my first car crash, and it gave me real experience on how to react in an emergency. My first thought was to check in with my body, making sure there was no pain or bleeding. My glasses had fallen off in the crash, and I had to fumble around to find my phone to call my parents. It was the scariest day of my life—an understatement for my parents as well. To this day, I am still deeply saddened by the loss of my first car, which I loved. But I am incredibly grateful that I wasn’t hurt and that I didn’t lose my life that day, like so many others who have been less fortunate.

I’ve always been taught to be a cautious and defensive driver, which makes the accident even more devastating because there was nothing I could have done to avoid it. As someone who doesn’t drink, driving under the influence is not an issue for me, but as I enter college life, I am aware that those around me may choose to be reckless and put others at risk. I pledge to speak up and act because I might be able to save a life and prevent another accident like the one I was in.