Name: Cody Thompson
From: mesa, Arizona
Votes: 0
Driving with care important or not?
Having a thrilling night with your friends, doing all things from laughing to running around anything your brain can grasp when suddenly you hear a ringing on your phone, picking it up to see it’s your brother who is just down the road when he says “I just rolled my car.” The immediate shock to your brain and body stops you from responding to him. The importance of driver safety has become such a complex topic in our generation due to technology, non proper upkeep of vehicles, updates in safety requirements etc. but within all of that stands just one central idea, keeping people alive. In this discussion, The necessary aspects of driving safely will be explored including getting ready to drive, handling an emergency, and during your operation of a motor vehicle.
When initially getting into the car you need to limit yourself to distractions as much as you can, these distractions being things such as smartphones, loud music, passengers and all the other fun things you can think of. In the article “Distracted Driving Is More Dangerous Than People Realize, New Research Shows” by the Scientific American it goes to show that 3,500+ deaths occurred in the United States and over 58% of accidents can be attributed to distracted driving, a large percentage of that due to smartphones which are so easy to carry and use causing an addiction that feeds into people’s mind in which forces them to feel like they are being left out whilst not on there phone. An easy way to fix this would be to implement software onto the cellular device recognizing driving and locking it, also states have started to create “distracted driving laws” in which there is no toleration giving a person a warning/ticket. Although eliminating all distractions is a near impossible task the less you have the higher safety level you have, another necessary thing you need to be doing is wearing your seatbelt. Today’s day in age the younger crowds seem to be amused or infatuated with the idea of acting cool or nonchalant by not wearing their seat belt which can make other person(s) feel less liked or inferior causing the peer pressure to get in the way of safety.
Following that, the next steps in driving safety would be getting started. You should always adjust your mirrors, seat, and climate. Another way to ease the beginning steps of a drive is to have a calm mindset and avoid aggressive behavior. Our subconscious mind has a role in our everyday decisions more than we know. The more we try to alleviate ourselves of stress the less driving mistakes our minds are going to idealize. While you’re driving the most important thing to follow is ALL traffic laws. Whether it be honking your horn after 9:00pm (yes this is illegal in Arkansas), or going the speed limit to sustain safety it is of utmost urgency to obey the rules made for us.
In relation to the physical part of driving the next matter to deal with is personal responsibility. The importance of leading by example has more of an impact on the surrounding drivers. A profound lesson found behind the wheel can start with a normal day, going to the gym seeing family and then bang all within an instance of getting into an accident that could potentially endanger someone’s life. Imagine being with your friends and family enjoying the smaller moments in life when you leave unannounced to drop someone off at home, being the cocky 16 year old freshly on the roads, all that confidence in your brain builds almost like a high you try to show off reaching speeds of up to 120 mph on a downhill, windy, and dark road. Boom. The next thing you know you’re rolling the distance of a football field with no idea what’s going on. Well i don’t have to imagine, when i was a freshman in highschool i was with my brother and some friends and he left with a girl to take her home when i received a call from him telling me he needed help. Thankfully, he and the girl sustained little to no injuries but it changed him on a level that I don’t think I’ll ever understand. You might be asking yourself the relevance behind this little anecdote. Well if my brother would have eliminated distractions, obeyed all traffic laws and not let ego get control of his mind he could have saved himself from enduring the pain and thought that he could have killed somebody.
In essence, getting behind the wheel of a vehicle is more than just driving from point A to point B. It’s realizing you have multiple lives in your hands at all times and taking that responsibility to heart by implementing safety guidelines and being the best person you can be. With safe driving we can save more than 38,000 lives yearly in the United States alone.
