Get Educated, Save a Life

Get Educated, Save a Life

Safe driving is a very important topic to me. When I was 11 years old, my uncle was involved in a distracted driving accident that cost him his life. He wasn’t the one driving, but was the passenger of the distracted driver. My husband lost his little brother at the age of five to a car accident, something that has impacted, and continues to impact him to this day. More thorough driving education can save more lives like the ones we have lost, so less families have to experience the pain of burying a loved one taken too soon.

If more drivers are educated on not only proper road etiquette, but also defensive driving practices, less accidents would occur, and therefore fewer people would be killed as a result of those accidents. Driver’s education should be required for teenagers learning to drive. Statistics show that teenagers that take a driver’s ed course are less likely to get in an accident in their first few years of driving. When I was in high school, my school did a distracted driving educational day. They had firefighters, EMT’s, and police come and do demonstrations of accidents, allow students to put on drunk goggles, and speak to students about the dangers of distracted driving. It impacted me greatly, and I made a commitment to myself that I would do my best to be an attentive driver. I think that more demonstrations, such as the one that I experienced in high school would be a beneficial step to reduce driving deaths. It could function as a “wake-up” call of sorts, and impact those individuals for a life-time.

While this sort of demonstration is very impactful and often very effective, I can admit with much guilt that I have been a distracted driver a time or two. It is a cognitive decision, and my commitment to be safe for myself, my husband, and my two children that remind me of why I should be a safer driver. Keeping my phone in the console of my car, and not answering a call or text when it shows up will help me keep myself, and the other driver’s around me, safe. If music is a necessity while driving, as it often is for me, getting it ready to go before I even put my car in reverse will keep me from fiddling with it while I’m on the go. I hope that better education for drivers, and implementing safer driving tactics, will help more people return home to their families safe and sound.