Name: Allison B Guffey
From: Moberly, MO
Votes: 0
Allison
Guffey 2
The
Importance of Arriving Alive
It is statistically
proven that people are safer flying on a plane than driving a car.
“Why is this?” many people would ask. Is it because the highest
airplane altitude is around 42,000 feet? Or is it because flying can
become more costly than driving? With 13 people dead on commercial
airlines compared to a staggering 43,000 dead on America’s
highways, it’s puzzling how people find airplanes fearful rather
than driving a vehicle to get to their final destination. Many of the
deaths occurring in car accidents every day come down to the fact
that there is a surplus of uneducated people out on the roads.
Today, especially
with the advancement in technology, drivers’ education courses are
extremely important and should be taught to all drivers. More
importantly, new drivers. New drivers aren’t as familiar with the
road and are more oblivious to accidents that can occur while
driving. Regardless, many drivers involved in car accidents and
deaths from accidents are usually a result of distracted driving. It
is extremely important that drivers become educated on the potential
dangers of driving, and the importance of always staying focused on
the road.
The first step that
should be taken in order to reduce the number of deaths related to
driving is making drivers’ education courses mandatory to new
drivers. Even if the course is boring, the student will eventually
become accepting of the class and retain some information being
taught. Another step that should be taken is to create a setting on
phones to ensure people aren’t allowed to use their phones as a
distraction while driving. Every potential distraction should be
minimized to the point where the person able to properly focus on the
road while driving. Removing these distractions will help drivers
easily “arrive alive”.
I’ve
never been in a serious enough car accident to be scarred and take
away a valuable lesson. However, my mom was in a car accident while I
was away one time. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I
later found out that the accident was caused by a woman in another
car that hit her. The driver was on her phone and distracted by her
children in the back seat.
My big takeaway
from hearing the statistics of the number of deaths that happen on
American highways was to always stay focused. No matter how tempting
that text message may be to respond to, it can wait. If I’m riding
with a family member or friend and they seem distracted, I will do
everything in my power to get them back on track and re-focus their
attention to the road. A text message will still be waiting for you
when you arrive. The rest of your life won’t be, so make sure you
do everything in your power to “arrive alive”.
Works
Cited
Leocha,
Charlie LeochaCharlie, and Travelers United. “How to Know When
Driving Is Better
than Flying.” Travelers United, 17 May 2019,
www.travelersunited.org/know-when-driving-vs-flying-is-better/.
