Safe Driving and the Best Ways to Do It

Safe Driving and the Best Ways to Do It

Driving is a key part of our lives. Whether it be for school, work, or just to travel to an event with friends. It’s projected that by the end of 2020, 230 million Americans will be licensed to drive. That means that almost 70% of Americans will be allowed to drive and that number will continue to increase every year. With this increasing amount of people on the road there is a lot of responsibility to protect ourselves and others while on the roadway. To make this possible we must emphasize the importance of driver’s education and establish a culture of safe and defensive driving.

The driver’s education curriculum may be the most important part of establishing this culture and ultimately decreasing accidents, injuries, and deaths due to driving. This coursework sets the foundation that people use for the rest of their lives, and it needs to be solid for it to hold up when people are under the stress of driving. This is because like most things, if you aren’t actively practicing good driving technique and etiquette, it will degrade over time. But, if the course can teach the learner good habits and practices that can stick with them over time, it will surely keep people safer throughout their driving career.

Various steps can be taken to reduce accidents as a result of driving. As I mentioned earlier one of the big ones I believe is creating a culture of safe driving skills. One effective strategy is building a circle of friends that insist their friends follow these guidelines, including not drinking and driving, racing each other or driving angrily. This could also be something as simple as having passengers use their seatbelts and not cause distractions in the vehicle. I think this could make a big change for the better. Another step that could be taken to enhance safety on the road is continuing to improve vehicle safety systems and technology and making them available to a broader spectrum of people. New drivers, especially, can benefit greatly from these safety technologies by complementing their knowledge with cameras, sensors, and warning systems.

I have experienced an accident in a vehicle. Luckily, it was in the parking lot of my school, so it wasn’t anything serious. I was heading home from school at the end of the school day. I was tired and not focused on the road. As traffic was building up and a turn came up, I didn’t brake as hard as I thought and ran into the car in front of me. My mental lapse caused the accident, but fortunately nobody got hurt, and only minimal damage was caused.

I was blessed to learn this lesson without any dire consequences. Ever since this incident, I make sure to mentally check myself before I begin to drive. A step that I could take to continue my safety and the safety of others is to stay calm while driving. I can get a bit annoyed by other drivers, such as when they are swerving in between lanes or other dangerous actions, but I must keep a level head so I don’t make a mistake. Another step I can take is making sure I give plenty of space to the drivers around me and anticipate that they might make a mistake.

Overall, there are numerous ways drivers all over the world can improve to ensure the safety of themselves and everyone else around them. Of course there will still be accidents, but if we can limit them then the world’s roadways will be a safer place for everyone.