How to help others to become a safer driver

The safety of my family and friends is at best terrible with their driving habits. There were times when my family used their phones while driving and I had to keep telling them to put their phones down. They pick up their phones for calling and mess with the radio while going at high speeds. The habits of my friends can be worse sometimes in the fact that they get distracted by stores and signs easily, almost hitting something in their way. The problems on the road have easy fixes, but there are many distinct types of driving problems.

The number one problem with my family and friends is distracted driving in both texting and phone calls. The fact alone that over three thousand people die in a year from distracted driving is one reason I try to better my family’s habits. The first step to take when trying to reduce distracted driving is to plainly turn off the phone when driving. The simplicity of turning the phone off is the most effective strategy, but to those who need their phone on for music or waiting for a text. The solution is easy for both problems, wait until the stop light or a moment where there is no car or risk of driving off the road, such as in the country while going under 30mph to ensure to avoid a crash or hitting an animal. Distracted driving can occur in multiple situations, but in every instance a person needs to put their phone down or wait until it is safe.

There is a secondary problem behind the safety of many drivers and that is drunk driving. The bettering of my family includes avoiding this dangerous possibility at all costs and never getting behind the wheel in such an inebriated state. My family never had drove drunk because we had already bettered our safety by having a non-intoxicated driver on standby whenever making plans to go out and drink. I personally do not drink, so to better the safety of my family I drive for them whenever alcohol gets into the equation. The risk of drunk driving is high, on average over 25 people are killed in drunk driving accidents because they were too ignorant and got behind the wheel or did not prepare with a standby driver.

Drowsy driving is a problem that my friends are usually the victims of. I have seen friends and family almost crash because they got too drowsy after working or staying up too late. A vivid memory that I remember staying away on the road is when my brother almost crashed into a van because he fell asleep at the wheel with me in the side seat. This memory allowed me to figure out methods to avoid drowsy driving. The planning of how late a person stays out determines what time I take naps to ensure I do not get drowsy at the wheel or go to a safe parking stop and rest for a few minutes as coffee or energy pills are not an instant cure for drowsy driving.

Speeding is the most popular factor of getting pulled over in America. The fact is that speeding is the easiest violation to correct, the most basic method is to glance at the speedometer every now and then when there is not any risk of danger. The other method if the person is persistent with speeding is to use a car that has a projection of the mile per hour the car is using. An example of this is with the 2015 BMV, the heads-up display can be used to drive without taking a person’s eyes off the road and keep them at a steady speed so they do not go over the speed limit and risk hurting people.

The most ignorant way my family or friends risk their lives is the failure to obey either traffic signs or yield signs. The worst case of these traffic violations came from either distracted driving or poor weather resulting in not seeing the sign and causing unnecessary damages. Personal experience has taught me to remain safe by driving slow in poor weather such as heavy rain or snowstorms. Missing signs when unable to see effectively has occurred in all my family because they were going too fast to realize, luckily none of them were harmed but they now slowdown in severe weather.

Several incidents occur while driving such as distracted driving, drunk driving, drowsy driving, speeding, and traffic violations, but all of these can be bettered with easy methods. Distracted driving can be stopped by turning the phone off or waiting at the stop sign. Drunk driving can be stopped by having a close family member or friend drive that person home. Drowsy driving can be stopped by scheduling moments of sleep-in advance or taking a rest before continuing driving. Speeding is an issue easily solved by patience and slowing down to the speed limit and staying cautious when not being able to see a stop sign. Traffic violations are the second most frequent and easily avoidable incident by adjusting speed so a person can carefully monitor for traffic signs. A person can achieve a safer and better driving ability by paying more attention and removing distractions from their car.