Diligence and Patience – Safe Driving Practices

Drivers ed is a necessary and essential step in reducing the
number of deaths as a result of driving. Understanding driver safety,
the rules and laws a driver should follow, and how to interpret and
respond to the behavior of other drivers, can make the road safer for
everyone. Drivers must act with both diligence and patience at all
times. When I first started driving, I was extremely cautious and
constantly alert. Drivers should never allow complacency to affect
the level of attention they give to their surroundings. Every driver
should strive to keep that same sense of diligent awareness they had
the first time they were behind the wheel. Patience is equally
important, whether when keeping a level-head in response to the
actions of other drivers or understanding that safety should not be
sacrificed because of an artificial sense of urgency. Speeding may be
tempting, but “making up” lost time is never worth your life or
the lives of others. Any trouble you may get into by being late is
almost always temporary, while the impact of choosing to speed may
last a lifetime: yours. Even worse, a lack of patience might allow
you to get off with no repercussions, but others might not be so
lucky. Not all accidents are deadly, but no accidents are without
consequence.

I have been in an accident in the past. At the bottom of a hill, cars
had to yield to oncoming traffic. I joined a long line of cars doing
just that, when a post office van bumped into the back of my car,
unaware of the practically invisible buildup along the other side of
the hill and going too fast to slow down in time. Thankfully, no one
was hurt and neither vehicle was damaged. The back of my car was
barely scuffed and the van was no worse for wear. If the driver of
the van had been speeding, I might have been forced into the back of
the car in front of me, creating a multiple car pileup. A situation
like the one I experienced could have easily been more harmful if
those involved had been driving recklessly. I hope that I never have
to experience an accident of greater severity, though, statistically,
achieving that hope is unlikely.

Personally, in order to ensure my safety when I drive, I try to stay
focused and to always practice diligence and patience. I have seen
many of my friends and family members who must drive regularly begin
to discard their diligence in driving. Driving the same route
everyday can convince people that they are aware of all the possible
dangers of the road because it has become so familiar to them. They
start to do things like fail to use their turn signals, text at
stoplights, or allow themselves to be distracted by unnecessarily
loud music or daydreaming. No one should ever ignore the seriousness
of driving, and I never allow others to drive me somewhere without
being safe.