The dangers of the road

Most crashes are caused by 3 things. Carelessness, distraction, and anger. The biggest reason for car crashes in America is simply because most Americans are unaware of how to drive or ignore the rules. Over 90% of car crashes are caused by human error, from carelessness like speeding to distracted or drunk driving. That’s the reason why we have courses like drivers education before we get a driver’s license. To teach us what to do and what not to do. Yet, many crashes and accidents are caused by denial of the rules of the road. Another thing that would help is teaching new drivers to be aware of motorcyclists while on the road. They usually go unnoticed and tend to weave all over in traffic which usually causes fatal crashes with 15% of all fatal crashes in the US involving motorcycles.

One thing I’ve found that I enjoy is a feature in my current car. It does stuff like limit the volume of music, the car can’t shift into start until the driver is buckled, and the car can’t reach speeds of more than 85 mph. These are features that could be implemented into cars everywhere and would greatly reduce deaths on the road. Quieter music causes less distractions and more focus on the road. The required seat belt will protect the driver in case of a crash, and the speed cap will reduce high speed crashes. Another feature my car has is little lights on the side mirrors that light up when someone is next to you and potentially in your blind spot. This can also help. I’ve almost been hit by so many drivers who try to change lanes without checking their blind spots. And even me personally, I had a moment about a month ago where I was driving on the freeway and was stuck behind a semi with another semi right behind me. I attempted to merge and pass him. I did everything required, I checked my blind spot and my rearview mirror. I went to change lanes when the little light came on. I stopped changing lanes and a car came speeding past. That could’ve been a bad crash as a result of that cars speeding and my rush to merge. That’s why the technology in cars is going to be the primary method to lower the number of automobile crashes and deaths in America

I have 2 experiences with car accidents. The first involves unawareness of the rules and distraction. My grandparents live in Massachusetts and came to visit me and my family. They were driving one day and were at a light turning left. Now, from what they told me is that in Massachusetts when the light turns solid green that means you have a protected turn whereas in Utah a protected turn is a green arrow. There were also signs on the traffic light saying yield on green, but my grandpa was distracted with something and didn’t see it. When the light turned green he started to turn and got hit hard in the side by a driver who also wasn’t paying attention. Luckily neither was hurt, but that goes to show the danger of distraction and not understanding or obeying the rules of the road.

My second story involves a friend of mine. He was riding his motorcycle one day when he got hit by a car in an intersection after they ran a red light. My friend was seriously injured and later passed away all because of a driver who wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.

Both of these accidents could have been avoided by simply paying attention to what’s around from other cars, to signs, to what color the light is.

One thing I’ve been working on to keep the roads safer is super simple. Not using my horn. Now don’t get me wrong. The horn is useful and is there for a reason, but I tend to use it too often as do others which causes problems and anger. One thing I’ve noticed is that road rage plays a heavy part in car crashes. If someone brake checks me and I lay on the horn, they’re most likely going to be mad and either unleash that anger on me, someone else, or that anger will impair their focus and lead to distracted driving. We never know what someone is going through and sometimes a single horn honk is enough to tip them over the edge.

So for everyone who reads this. I have 2 invitations. Please try your best to pay attention to your surroundings whether on a busy road or in the middle of nowhere. You never know when something will happen that will require you to be fully focused or result in a crash. And the 2nd one is please think twice before using your horn, it’s easy to use it to let out anger, but in the end it usually causes more harm than good. And can even lead to death in some cases

In conclusion, the main causes of crashes are distraction and carelessness. The way we can fix these problems is through better safety through vehicle technology, less distractions and through patience on the roads. As we do these I know we can eliminate the key problems and reduce death on the road significantly. Now, to finish off, I have a question for you. How can you make the road a safer place?