Driving Safe to Make Driving Safer

Driving is the primary form of transportation worldwide. Whether it be a short commute or a long road-trip, the ability to drive is efficient and convenient. Unfortunately, it is also one of the riskiest forms of transportation. While the majority of drivers are careful and safe, another large portion can cause everyone harm with bad driving techniques, lack of care, distraction, and aggression. Even with good drivers on the road, it only takes one poor decision or wrong move to result in a crash, injuries, and in the worst case death.

Driver education is perhaps the most effective tool to prevent bad driving. By starting on the right foot, a driver will likely be very careful and mindful while on the road, which is not only safe, but is a good example to other drivers. Certain techniques are taught within driving classes, such as: how to gauge your distance between cars, how to know how early to start breaking, how to safely change lanes, how to react to changes in weather/conditions, and a plethora of other useful pointers. While they may seem small and insignificant at first, the summation of these skills can build an excellent driver. Also, proper driver education can offer an improvement in a person’s understanding of the danger encountered on the road. This is critical, as it can decide the difference between a proper reaction to a perceived threat, or conversely, an over-exaggeration that could cause a driver to enter an even more dangerous condition.

A few simple steps can be used to improve the safety of one’s driving. Firstly, courtesy is a strong tool, and can influence others on the road around you positively. By driving carefully and allowing other drivers around you to move freely, you can create a much friendlier road, with less obstacles and less maneuvering needed. The simple act of slowing down to allow the person to your side to merge goes a long way. Even slowing down in heavy traffic to allow a person to exit a plaza safely can prevent him from making a riskier maneuver later. Secondly, always check blind spots, and don’t rely on your mirrors too heavily. A common mistake while driving, that even I am guilty of on occasion, is checking my mirrors and assuming I am safe to change lanes. Regardless of the fact that the mirrors are built to help you see cars to your sides and behind you, they still don’t function perfectly. If mirrors are the only thing a driver checks, there is still a risk that someone is in their blind spots, which is dangerous as these blind spots are almost always close to the vehicle. Another step is to react appropriately and effectively. When driving, sudden obstacles can appear alarmingly fast; therefore, it can be common to overreact and make the situation worse. If animals cross the road, it is important not to swerve. While an animal can cause significant damage to your car, swerving off the road can cause much worse problems. Instead, try to safely and steadily move away from it. You may hit the animal, but the alternative is more perilous. This applies similarly to other situations. If a car ahead spins out of control, do not correct yourself too sharply, or you could also lose control of the vehicle.

In an effort to reduce fatal accidents while driving, more steps can be employed. Seatbelts are the primary safety feature in any vehicle. Without a seatbelt, even a minor incident can prove fatal since the change in movement of your vehicle compared to your body will cause you to violently hit things within your car. Seatbelts can withstand crashes at very high speeds, meaning that it restrains you from moving too freely within the car to injure yourself with blunt

force. Instead, your body acts more of another appendage within the car, and with some luck you may even escape a crash unharmed. An often overlooked step is making sure that the head cushions are positioned behind your head. While they may look like they are designed to make driving more comfortable, they actually serve a more important purpose: protecting the neck. When hit from behind while in a car, a whiplash effect can cause the head to remain in the same place while the rest of the body moves forward quickly since it is backed by a seat. This motion can cause severe neck and head injury when the head snaps back suddenly. The head cushion solves this problem by backing the head, which causes the whole body to move together. Lastly, never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These substances will impair a driver’s ability to react on time and make rational decisions, among other issues. If under the influence, it is never shameful to call a taxi, Uber, rideshare service, or have a designated driver. Instead, it is honorable since it is an effort to be safe to others and yourself. These three steps are the best ways to reduce injuries or death on the road, aside from normal road safety.

As a driver myself, I have witnessed many crashes and injuries while driving. Fortunately, I have never been in a crash, thanks to many of the techniques above that I commonly employ. A few of my friends have been injured in accidents, namely one who hydroplaned through a red light, resulting in a pelvic fracture. With more care, this could have been avoided, and resulted in no injury. Luckily, education for drivers improves each year as more research procures better safety techniques. As long as each driver makes a conscious effort to follow steps for their safety and others, the road will be a much safer place.