Safety and Its Importance in Driving

It’s 7 AM. I drop my sister off at school, and proceed over to an off-campus class. I head onto Katy Freeway, one of the biggest freeways in the U.S., and find myself stuck in a traffic jam. As soon as I make even the smallest gap between the car in front of me, a beat-up car suddenly swerves in without signaling. With little-to-no time to properly react, I slammed on the brakes and slammed my right hand on the horn. Luckily, I had managed to avoid a rear-end collision with the vehicle in front, but in return, realized how dangerous some people drive. It’s as if those drivers had infinite lives in a video game.

A variety of factors can be attributed to this kind of driving, such as anger, stress, or cluelessness. People fail to realize that driving a car can be the equivalent of using a weapon due to a vehicle’s large size. This is why driver education is so important: it spreads awareness and lets people know of the dangers of operating a vehicle. In this sense, people will be more attentive to the safety of themselves and others, which in turn, will lead to better driving practices. In addition, driver education will ensure that people will not make mistakes based on lack of knowledge. A good chunk of the driver’s education curriculum focuses on the usage of the car, which should nullify any claims of not being able to use a car properly.

However, given the amount of dangerous drivers that are on the road at any given moment, it is imperative that several measures be instituted to combat the possibility of deaths from accidents. The first suggestion is to make people take a driving test every 10 years, or if they’re more risky (i.e. criminal record or elderly), 5 years. This way, we can still ensure that people are still able to drive safely amongst others. In addition, drivers who are typically regarded as ‘dangerous’ can be weeded out, reducing the likelihood of accidents altogether. Secondly, we can instate mandatory dashcams. A good chunk of people who drive don’t have dash cams, and as such, if they get into an accident and someone gets injured or dies, then the other party will attempt to press charges. Dash cams also act as a way of monitoring people’s driving. If a person drives recklessly, gets into an accident, and has a dashcam on, it can be proved that the person shouldn’t be able to drive. Thus, it acts as an additional way of weeding bad drivers out. Lastly, there should be a nationwide ban on technology usage when driving. While most of the states have already implemented restrictions on phone usage, I believe that it’s imperative to spread those restrictions across all 50 states. When using your phone, you cannot focus on the road, and as such, may lose control of your car and get into an accident, putting you and others at risk of injury or death. As such, I believe making a nationwide law on the ban of electronic usage while driving will prove to be effective; people will start to focus more on the road and have more control over their car, thus reducing the likelihood of car accidents.

For me, I think just being aware of my surroundings can overall drastically increase the safety of my surroundings and I. With awareness of surroundings, I’m able to know what’s going on around me and plan out how I should react in quick-time events. If everyone were to pay attention to surroundings just as I do, people wouldn’t make careless mistakes that may put others in danger. In addition to being situationally aware, I believe that not being distracted is essential. This isn’t limited to technology – modified cars, advertisements, people on the streets can all be attributed to driving distractions. Focusing exclusively on the roads will allow you to be more situationally aware of where you are, and you won’t run the risk of losing control of your car. It should also be noted that you cannot pay attention exclusively to your surroundings; there may be a car in front of you that suddenly brakes, and in that case, you might run head on into them.

In short, driver’s education is imperative to the safety of people like you and I. It allows us to be more aware of what we’re doing and their consequences. In addition, it will also reduce the likelihood of deaths and injuries resulting from car accidents, overall making driving more safe.