My experience as a Driver

The first time I drove on the freeway was one of the scariest driving moments I have ever experienced in my life. One day a relative of mine needed to be picked up from the hospital. He could not drive due to a procedure requiring heavy drugs that prevented him from driving for the next few hours. Lucky me, an inexperienced driver, I was the only one available to pick him up. After a few minutes on the road, there we were, on a five-lane interstate road-going seventy five miles and hour heading back home. I could feel my heart pounding from the second I entered the interstate. I was versed in every detail from the book on good driving procedures when suddenly, a police car appeared right behind us, and the police car lights turned on. Confused about what I had done wrong, I did a quick speed check, trying to understand why the officer was trying to pull me over. After a few seconds, the police car started zigzagging from lane one to lane five. I was in disbelief. I first thought the police officer might have been drunk! My mind was running one hundred miles an hour. I saw myself trying to explain to the police officer (in my limited English) why my passenger was groggy and why my adrenaline was through the roof! Still confused and with a tight grip on the steering wheel and sweat running down my face, I decided to finally wake up my passenger and ask him what I should do. I ask him while trying to control my emotion, do I pull over? My heart was racing uncontrollably, and I felt as if I was going into a panic attack. Luckily, my relative laughed and said, “He is closing the freeway, relax”! I had never felt more relieved after such an adrenaline rush. Since then, I have been more attentive to my surroundings while driving.

A few years later, my attentiveness to my surrounding saved me from a real bad accident. I was driving on the freeway when suddenly I approached a construction zone. All the cars in front of me were quickly breaking. I had just enough time and space between myself and the car in front of me to do the same. Unfortunately, I could see that the driver behind me was distracted, and I could see from my driver’s side mirror she was not breaking any time soon. I pulled aside to the shoulder as quickly as I could, but still, she hit me on the driver’s side rear headlight of my car. Luckily, we both didn’t suffer any serious injuries, but it gave us quite a scare. Distraction while driving is a serious issue that can be avoided. I believe a class in defensive driving is an excellent option for drivers to show them how to avoid most accidents. It can also be a great refresher for even veteran drivers. We can drive as safely as we want, but we must be aware of our surroundings, especially of other drivers around us that might not be paying attention while driving. In today’s world, cell phones are one of the leading causes of driver distractions. I have seen many drivers looking at their phones while driving. It just takes a second to be in an accident while not paying attention to the road. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), 15,341 (15-29 years of age) were involved in fatal crashes in 2017 due to distraction or cell phone use. Cellphone use while driving is one topic to consider diminishing the country’s fatalities and crash accidents.

As a student of Electrical Engineering, I see the possible creation of an app or program for future vehicles that can contribute to the conversation of cell phone use restrictions while driving. Having bought several new cars in my life, I have seen great improvements to limit distractions due to cell phones. That said, I still think that there are more improvements that can be made. New technology like the Tesla, which is self driving vehicle, might be the final solution. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have a Tesla, but unfortunately, we all can’t afford a Tesla. Until then, we need to be attentive to our surrounding while driving. The possibility of contributing to the solution to realworl d problems is undoubtedly one of the aspects that brings me joy in this path to become an Electrical Engineering.