Drive Defensively

As a young boy playing with hot wheels, I thought about driving down the road on my play mat or play road I laid out. I drove up hills, around curvy roads, made left and right turns, and abrupt stops. I even had some crashes. Never did I think about the implications of driving on the wrong side of the road or how that little crash may have impacted the people in those vehicles. It was not until my brothers had their accidents that I began to think about the dangers involved in driving. Although those crashes and their words taught me a lot, it was not until I studied for my learner’s permit that I began to understand more about driving and the perils it could bring. Driving takes attention as well as skills. In a time when everyone seems distracted, it is important to be the one not distracted.

My oldest brother had his only accident when he was 16 years old. The accident was because he was distracted thinking about a girl and talking to a friend in his truck. He totaled the truck but thankfully was able to walk away. My other brother’s accident resulted in him flipping over and spinning around after someone hit him because they were not paying attention to where they were or where my brother was traveling. Thankfully, he was able to walk away from that accident. Listening to him reliving the accident, he saw the man that hit him coming over but was unable to maneuver his truck to avoid the man coming from 2 lanes over to hit him. Both my oldest brother and the man who hit my older brother were distracted driving. Neither of my brothers were able to take a defensive driving course in school.

I took a drivers education course one semester in my freshman year of high school. I thought it was fun to do it with my baseball coach. He was very patient with the 3 of us who rotated driving. I was not nervous during my driving but sure was nervous when the smallest guy of us 3 drove. It seemed like he could barely see over the steering wheel. Coach put us in different situations to help us get the most experience. Where we live in Arkansas, we have service roads which run parallel to the interstate. That is a scary enough situation when approaching that off ramp and having others traveling on the service road. That is one situation in which you really have to pay attention. Not everyone is familiar with the way that works. So some try to immediately stop coming off the interstate causing a major back and use of brakes Those traveling on the service road either way (north or south) are supposed to yield to the interstate exiting travelers. Distracted drivers do not always do the right thing and yield. This one intersection has reinforced my learning about other drivers not always paying attention to their surroundings. Drive defensively is what I remember my Coach and mom telling me. I am thankful for the patient and cool-headed coach teaching me to drive. I feel like I learned more from the situations he put us in rather than just the book knowledge I learned to take the test for my permit.

My last two years of high school, my parents sent me to a school 30 miles from home. On that drive, I crossed over a Mississippi River bridge on which thousands of vehicles a day cross over. During my two years traversing that interstate road, I have spent many hours stuck in traffic as the result of accidents. As I was able to approach the accident site, I often wondered what happened? Was the driver not aware of the other vehicle around him? Was the driver on their phone? Was the driver changing the radio station or too enthralled in the music? Did they have a medical problem inhibiting their ability to operate the vehicle? As I approach the scene, I have to quickly recover my thoughts to focus on my drive. I have to start re-focusing my thoughts to be cognizant of my drive and those around me.

I am only a couple of years out from taking my driving course. I believe that helps me remember the little things I was taught when situations arise. I think it should be a requirement of everyone with a license to take a defensive driving course upon renewal of their license. Maybe states could develop a driving course to test everyone which would put them in situations that would require them to be paying attention and reacting. This should be done every 5 years for memory sake.

I try my best each time I get behind the wheel to use the skills I was taught in a driver’s education course. I am cognizant of my surroundings at all times. Keep a constant watch to see what is coming up behind me, beside me, and in front of me. I try to lead by example with my friends. As I get in the driver’s seat with them in my vehicle, I may talk with them but am constantly surveying everything and everyone around me. While I was carefree and reckless with my hot wheels, I have learned a lot about driving since that age. I take caution when changing lanes, turning, and even directions. Continued education of each driver on the road should help lower the accidents each year as it stimulates muscle memory for the driver. While the load rests on the shoulders of the driver, it is all our responsibility to keep each other safe. We can always help the driver be aware of his surroundings or remind them of things we can do to keep us all safe.