Coming in Clutch

Grieving over a loved one that has passed away peacefully due to old age is always a strenuous experience, and I can only imagine how someone might feel when a loved one was snatched from their family because of an uncircumstantial accident. People understand when their elders are expecting to pass due to their old age and crippling body, so they have some chances to say that they love them and appreciate what they have done for their family before passing, but having someone stolen from you suddenly in a car crash was never envisioned in one’s mind. This doesn’t just cause despair and grief over the loss of a loved one, it also produces regret because there was never a time that felt appropriate to say how much someone meant to you and now you will never get the chance to tell them that after the crash.

Driving education is a great way for people to be taught how to drive by professionals who acknowledge the main causes of accidents and will prepare those students to be aware of their surroundings in hopes of preventing any more accidents. These teachers have coached many people, so they understand how nervous others are when first learning to drive. They operate in a special car that has a brake pedal on the passenger side as well as the driver’s side, so if the student driver is not paying attention for any reason, the instructor can brake to prevent any further accidents. When this happens, it stuns the trainee and will resonate with them and will prepare them for future scenarios. This happened to me while I was learning to drive. I was in the right lane on the highway and was planning to merge into the passing lane. I started to merge when I saw a car speeding down the lane I was merging onto. If I would have checked in my side mirror to see if anyone was driving in my blind spot, I would have seen the car coming beside mine and would never have had to swerve back into the right side lane to avoid a crash. Now, due to this experience, I constantly check my side mirrors before even deciding if I want to merge. These experiences are somewhat traumatic and will be prevalent for further driving experiences.

I’ve only experienced rear end situations which weren’t very traumatic. It was simply a bump into the back of the car without any severe damage to the car or the people within the vehicle. I have, however, experienced many car rides where people were driving far too fast above the respectable speed limit. I felt like I was riding an unpredictable roller coaster. One of the main benefits of riding a roller coaster is the desirable speed. Although people get the thrill of riding those coasters, they should not try to replicate that feeling when driving because unlike roller coasters, driving is unpredictable and there are many other cars on the “track” opposed to just one car running at a time. Driving is nothing at all like a roller coaster and the only time that people should be driving exceptionally high speeds are the people in IndyCar or NASAR races, because they are professionals who have been training, opposed to these people on the highways who weave in and out of lanes because they think they have priority over the freeway.

I think it would be beneficial for people to complete a simulation that puts the player through the experience of someone who would be in a car crash. Many people assume that because they are a good driver and follow the driving guidelines, they will never be in a car accident. However, anything can happen, and if they are introduced to different ways of getting into accidents, through this simulator, they are more likely to become aware of what to look out for while driving and become more cautious of their surroundings. It’s this concept that if people never witnessed situations, it becomes out of sight then out of mind. Just like how people don’t realize that others are starving around them because they are filled with food, people don’t realize just how easy it is to be in a car crash because they have never witnessed one themselves.

Most car crashes that I’ve heard of have been from running red lights. In this scenario I would highlight the importance of looking both ways before crossing even if there is a green light. You never know who might not be paying attention and the unknown is really the scariest part about driving. That being said, because people never know if they are going to get into a crash, they should just constantly be aware and avoid being in a rush. Another main benefactor of accidents is that people tend to accelerate way above the speed limit because they are in a hurry. In order to feel comfortable on the road, people should leave earlier than expected so that they don’t need to challenge the speed limit. There was a group of kids from my school who were in a car crash because they were speeding and swerved off the road to avoid a deer. Luckily, because we live out in farmland, there was no reason to have guard rails, and if we did those two students would be dead due to the sudden impact into the guard rail. Sadly, I see this same kid speeding all the time anyways after the fact of being in a crash that could have interfered with his whole life plans. That being said, just because you are in a crash, doesn’t mean that people won’t stop driving crazily like they once were. This brings me back to my main point, that you should be very concerned with all your surroundings when driving, whether that be from opposing cars or wildlife. You need to be more worried about other people than yourself and your abilities when it comes to driving.

One other main cause of car crashes is the use of turn signals. Many people feel that there is no need to use turn signals because they know where they are going. What they don’t understand is that turn signals are meant to be used so that the people around them know where they are going. Because people are allowed to turn right on red, each car relies on all the cars to try and determine if they have enough space to turn onto the road safely. If the car turning did not specify where they plan on going, there might be two cars moving forward towards each other when one randomly turns in front of the other causing a crash of some sort. This could have been avoided if the car turning would have used their turn signal as a warning to the other car to slow down.

Overall, the key takeaways for protecting yourselves from potentially causing accidents is to use turn signals, be aware of your surroundings, and to go the speed limit. By reducing the amount of hectic traits that you might encompass while driving, it will reduce the outcome of being in a life threatening accident. I implore everyone to keep their eyes open and stay safe when driving.