Safe Driving Essay

I believe that safe driving is something that should be taken very seriously. I personally know a lot of people who do not care to wear a seatbelt because they are “not driving very far” or “know how to drive”. This is often the reasoning behind people who are in fatal car crashes. No matter what the distance is of the drive, you should always have a seatbelt on. Typically, it is not if you are a good driver, but it is if the other drivers are paying attention. Ever since I began to drive, my parents have encouraged me to be a very attentive driver because you have no idea who you are on the road with while driving. You could be driving with drunk drivers or people who are distracted by their phones. Both of these are very dangerous. I am never on my phone when driving, and it does annoy some people that I do not see my calls or messages immediately. Most people that know me personally just know that if I do not answer my phone then I am either dead or driving. There are, however, instances where people get into wrecks because they are unaware of the rules of the road. If people would just take the time to learn a few rules, then they could save so many lives. They would also save themselves a world of trouble. If you kill someone in a car wreck (in the other car or your own) then you are looking at some serious jail time. I believe that by requiring some sort of driver’s education in schools, then we could prevent so many deaths. This is because teen drivers are notoriously horrible drivers. This is not a very thought-out idea, but more of just a suggestion. I believe that we could also require mandatory driver safety tests every 5 years for drivers. This still would not stop the drunk driving problem we have in America. My Aunt Katy unfortunately passed away in a head-on collision with a drunk driver when I was a kid. That drunk driver survived the crash, and if I am not mistaken, he is still in prison to this day. This was obviously devastating for me and her kids. Ever since then, my parents have been very strict about anything driving-related. When I was about 13 years old, I was involved in a car accident. My stepdad, brother and I were pulling a trailer with a skid steer on the back. This wreck had absolutely nothing to do with traffic violations or anyone else. We were driving on the highway going about 60 miles per hour when we started to swerve violently. My dad was able to slam on the brakes fast enough to slow us down significantly, but we still rolled off the road. We were all ok, but pretty shaken up. It turned out that the reason we flipped was because the trailer had not been loaded properly. Not knowing at the time this was such an important part of driving with a trailer safely, I was pretty blown away by this news. That was a whole new side of driving for me to discover and figure out. There are many accidents every year caused by this problem alone. Aside from car accidents, I have seen some very, VERY reckless driving from friends and family. Sometimes in the moment, it seems fun to drive fast or watch someone do something dumb. But taking a step back and looking at it from a more responsible point of view, it is very concerning that I have driven with some of the people I have. Even if it is not for a joke, I have worked for people that have put me in some interesting situations on the road, whether that is driving a vehicle that is very obviously not road-legal, or pulling something that has no business being pulled by a small vehicle. Thinking about it now, I definitely should have just told them no when they asked, but I was afraid to look like a baby. I believe that just talking about safe driving regularly, can improve the amount of crashes and fatalities. It does not have to be some profound heart-to-heart with someone every time they go to drive, but if you just tell them “Don’t be on your phone when driving” it may convict them to not do it. I also am a firm believer that if one person does something, then others will follow in their footsteps. All it takes is one person to be a good example, and others will see this and follow. I do my best every day to be a good influence on people. It would all be worth it even if I saved just one life.