Safe Driving Among Americans

At the age of four, I was met at home with the news of my maternal uncle’s death. I walked into my house after school to see my mother crying at the dining room table. When I asked my mom what was wrong, she informed me that my Uncle Jeremy had passed away in a car wreck. At the time, I was confused and unfazed by the news because of my age. Now that I am sixteen and I operate my own vehicle, I realize how important it is to remain focused while driving. Jeremy had been texting his girlfriend and stopped watching the road. He let his distractions get in the way of his safety. My brother’s biological mother died in a wreck due to a selfish driver. My mother wrapped her car around a tree as a teenager because she was not in the right state of mind to operate a car. Tragedies like these can be avoided by attentively listening to driver’s education, refraining from having distractions or being a distraction in the car, and being a courteous driver to others on the road.

Driver’s education has become, like most things nowadays, an online task. Experts on driver’s education believe that “Unfortunately, online driving schools are not as regulated as in-person options. As a result, the quality of education may suffer” (“Online Drivers Ed” 6). Today, people have resources that they may use in any type of online class. Teens are not learning the rules of the road but just getting the work done as quickly as possible. Being obligated to attend driver’s education in person of one’s own volition teaches a sense of responsibility. According to a case study done at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, “‘Teens taking driver education are less likely to be involved in crashes or to receive a traffic violation during their first two years of driving,’ the researchers concluded. ‘Because teen crashes and fatality rates are highest at ages [sixteen to eighteen], these reductions are especially meaningful. Driver education appears to make a difference in teen traffic outcomes at a time when risk is highest’” (“University of Nebraska-Lincoln” 3). Driver’s education provides knowledge that most young adults are not accustomed to. By making their youth sit down and listen to vital information they would not otherwise know, parents increase the chance of their child making it from point A to point B with no complications. Driver’s education is as crucial to the safety of amateur drivers as focusing on the road.

Phones, food, and friends can be enormously distracting while driving. The CDC claims that “In the United States, over [three thousand and one hundred] people were killed and about [four hundred and twenty-four thousand] were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2019” (“Distracted Driving” 2). People struggle with sitting in silence and having nothing to do with their hands for long periods. As a result, when one slight intrusion occurs in the car, their full attention is set on that hindrance. Some ways to avoid distractions include “[avoiding] texting, eating, grooming or calling someone while behind the wheel” (“10 Tips to Reduce” 2). Even small things like chatting with a friend on the phone can put everyone on the road in danger. The best course of action to remain completely safe would be to stow away all distractions. Refrain from having a phone nearby. Refrain from eating or drinking. Refrain from allowing troublesome friends to ride in the car. Use wisdom to keep all persons involved as safe as possible.

Using wisdom includes being considerate of others on the street. “Driving often causes stress and anger. We all know that stress and anger are not good for health. They are not good for your physical, emotional, and mental health, and should be avoided as much as possible” (Sasson 7). As in most things in life, spells of anger will not create a more convenient situation while operating a vehicle. In fact, it often makes life ten times worse. Acting kind towards someone is a cause-and-effect scenario. This is the same for being rude towards someone. Acting kind towards someone will lead them to be nice to others, and so on. Being a courteous driver will lead to other drivers being just as thoughtful. In the scattering kindness, the author writes that “[Road rage] is selfish thinking. This is entitled thinking. This is dangerous thinking which can lead to us arriving at our destination frustrated at the last and full of road rage at the most” (“Kindness Is Being a” 1). The author is correct in their thinking. Being a selfish driver will lead to nothing but failed expectations. Courtesy on and off the road is paramount as people walk through life.

Attending driver’s education, avoiding disturbances, and being gracious on the road will aid in evading catastrophes. Driver’s education teaches all the things needed to operate an automobile. Distractions lead to more danger. Selflessness on the road ripples into more peace. As someone whose family has been dramatically impacted by tragic deaths having to do with vehicles, I firmly believe that these are the steps that need to be taken to stay safe.