New Perspective

Becoming a parent can open your eyes to many things. It definitely did for me. Probably the minute I learned I was going to be a mother I started thinking about things differently. I felt myself being more careful and more aware as it was no longer only me I was caring for. Even before my first son was born I learned all about car seat safety and installation, but I soon found out that there was going to be so much more to learn centered around safety and driving.

Finally, I am taking him home from the hospital; making sure he was safe was all I could think about. I did what I was supposed to, but then I realized it wasn’t me I needed to worry about, it was all the other drivers. My driving became more defensive than offensive. I became very aware of my surroundings, much more than ever before. One thing I noticed in doing so was the huge amount of distractions out on the drive. Not only are there distractions in your own cars such as your baby or the radio and even perhaps your cell phone because this was prior to you needing to drive hands free (which I think is a great law), but also billboards, animals, construction, and most importantly other drivers. Then you have to remember not everyone pays attention to the sirens flashing so you get out of the way or the school bus crossing rules. This was all a lot to navigate while being young with a new baby, but I managed. I am thankful that I never was in a big accident while having the kids in the car. I cannot imagine how scary that would be and how you could be feeling so helpless. I have come upon a few accidents that already happened and I helped get children out of the car or street while EMTs tended to the adults in the car. Sadly I do know of a few people who died because of car accidents, two of the three could have been completed prevented if they just called for a ride.

Fast forward to my older son learning to drive. Not only was I nervous for him to be taking such a huge step in growing up, but really I was worried about the dangers of driving and all the ways an accident could still happen to even the best drivers. Thankfully he got his license at a time where you could not be on your phone while driving. I do not pretend to think everyone follows this rule all of the time, but it helps me to get the message to him about the dangers involved. It is disappointing that when taking your driver’s test and the hours needed prior to that more emphasis isn’t placed on safety. It seems like the motions of how to park and what different signs mean that are uncommon take the focus rather than the acknowledgments of distractions and how to not to cause an accident or better yet how to prevent one if possible. Something that I wanted to make sure he saw is that I was following the rules and I thought if he learned from watching some of his friends might as well. Peer pressure doesn’t always have to be a negative thing. He is pretty good about making doing the right thing look cool.

Now he’s of the age where he is one of the young kids responsible for making the correct decisions about being able to drive or not. He is in the military and doesn’t live close to home so I cannot come to get him when he needs a ride, but he is smart and we have a deal that if he cannot afford an uber I will send one to him. I would much rather he owe me for an uber ride than make the life-changing decision to drive impaired. Again, I hope others see him make the correct decision, and maybe later when faced with the same thing they will too. I am seeing more information stating that buzzed driving is drunk driving or if you are asking yourself if you need a ride then you do. I think this kind of wording is what younger kids need. It makes sense to them. If it makes sense you can not argue it or try to justify other options. I think prevention is key!