Behind the wheel

The importance of a driver’s education is key when getting behind the wheel. There are over 115 million people a day increasing the chance of dangerous driving. The education of driving is vital to the driver’s life and others on the road. Taking a driving course and studying the key factors of defensive driving can save lives including yourself. Taking the correct safety measures and following the law will decrease the number of deaths per year. Correct safety measures can include anything from putting your seatbelt on to knowing how to safely merge onto the highway. Knowing the importance of how to check your blind spots and mirrors is beyond enough to lessen the risk of danger. In the U.S. more than 46,000 people die in an accident involving a car.

Help save a life on the road. One of the largest reasons accidents happen involves reckless driving. This includes speeding, drinking, and running stop lights and or stop signs. Most of these are caused because of poor timing. Drivers tend to go over the speed limit when running late to an event. A solution to this could be an alarm. Set an alarm for the activities you are worried you might miss or forget to leave early for. This would remind you to give yourself some extra time and get to your destination with time to spare. Reckless driving also includes drinking. When going out with friends/family if you know there is a chance you’re going to drink, have a plan. Ask someone you know who is attending the event who isn’t going to drink to drive you home or somewhere safe. Another plan could be for you to call an Uber or friend. Paying a couple of dollars for an Uber is better than putting yourself and others in danger. When drivers have become intoxicated they tend to become reckless, including running stop signs or stop lights. Stop signs and stop lights are placed in an area where drivers need to stop and look both ways. They are put there to ensure your safety from getting into an accident. Reckless driving can be prevented. Along with fatigue driving. Driving happens all day every day all over the world. With that being said, that means people drive during the night. This could be something new to a driver. Meaning they are not well rested or prepared to be awake. Driving fatigue shares similar dangers as influenced driving. Slower reaction times, ability to respond, and ability to maintain control of the car. When things like this occur, you have no reason to be behind the wheel. When switching your routine or getting less sleep than normal there is a huge risk of falling asleep or becoming drowsy while driving. There are easy ways to help prevent this. For example, going to bed earlier than usual. Getting an extra hour of sleep when extremely tired can prevent you from an accident.

My parents have been in a car accident on their way to work. Both of my parents work third shift meaning they drive through the night, go to work, and then drive home in the morning. Their job is about an hour and a half away from home. They take little country roads onto highways. A couple of years ago, my dad was driving them both home and fell asleep behind the wheel. Moments before my dad fell asleep my mom fell asleep in the passenger seat. Meaning she couldn’t help prevent anything. He started to drift into the lane beside him and hit the side of a semi. Thankfully my dad woke up and helped prevent anything more crucial than what had already happened. It left a big dent in the side of our car. However, there was no major damage and nobody was injured.

Let’s reduce the danger of drivers on the road. There are lots of things you can do to become a better driver whether you need it or not. Some examples are, wearing your seatbelt, obeying laws, avoiding distractions, taking care of your car, and paying attention to the weather. There are a lot of safety measures you can adjust to become a safer driver. Doing these things will lessen the risk of you getting into an accident. How can you help other people become a safer driver? If you know someone who is not the safest driver, you can talk to them and encourage them to change their ways. Speak from the heart but don’t be super criticizing. If you are riding with someone who is not a safe driver, inform them that you don’t feel safe and why. You should never get into a car with someone you do not trust.