Intention and Attention

I was apathetic when I started learning to drive. As soon as I got my license I was playing fast and loose with the rules. Stop signs were an inconvenience and intersections were a roll of the dice, with disregard to the fact that the dice had imminent death written on one of the sides. While these mistakes didn’t escalate further than a few yells and honks, one ended in an accident. I was driving my friends and my brother to soccer practice scheduled at an unfamiliar venue so I put it on the GPS. I had too many people in the car and the music was distracting as well. I missed my first turn. The GPS rerouted me but I couldn’t and still can’t judge distance on my phone map. I had lost focus and was snapped back by the command of one of my passengers to turn right. I did so. There were a few problems with this action: I was in the left lane, I didn’t check my shoulders, and didn’t signal. In seconds I had crashed into the side of an older man’s car. Said car spun till the front was facing me and stopped at the curb. Luckily no one was hurt and I shed a respectable amount of tears, but I had unintentionally endangered my passengers and another driver.

No one wants to end up in an accident. It’s not on most people’s bucket list. The best way to avoid this is not to drive. However if you can’t do less than a 5minute mile, the alternative is to be a safe driver. Drivers Ed is the foundation of safe driving. It’s hard sometimes to focus, but taking notes and asking questions can help. Plus drivers who don’t finish drivers ed are more likely to get tickets and more likely to get into accidents. So paying attention to Drivers Ed saves lives.

There are other steps drivers can take to lower the death rate . One step is to eliminate distractions. Teens have the highest rate of fatal crashes and it’s no coincidence today’s teens are also some of the most distracted. Take my story for example, I had multiple people, music playing, and important GPS directions. I obviously overestimated my ability to handle this, considering the fact that I can barely do homework and listen to music. A lot of people are distracted these days by their phones, other people, and even alcohol. Avoid anything that could hinder your focus while driving. Another step, especially for adults, would be to not only advise young people but also model what a five-star uber driver looks like. It will help both adult and teen drivers be more aware, stay alert, focused and not fall victim to the ‘slippery slopes’ of distracted driving. Overall everyone should understand the gravity of the situation when they choose to step into the driver’s seat. With great power comes great responsibility . . . well, and the choice of music.