It All Starts with You

Driver education is crucial to all drivers because it could be the key point in not only saving your own life, but others around you! Without proper education in driving, you risk injury, damage, and death. There are various ways to reflect your understanding in being a responsible driver–being emotionally and mentally present is a key factor for that. That begins with you.

Many do not realize how important mental health is when it comes to driving. According to The National Library of Medicine’s Author Manuscript, ‘Associations of Mental Health with Driving While Impaired and Risky Driving in Emerging Adults,’ it is proven that those with “higher depressive and psychosomatic symptoms were associated with modestly higher likelihood of DWI.” Not only do you risk car damages, injuring yourself or others, and life threatening consequences, but you also run into legal situations that get you in trouble! Any type of emotion related to anger, rage, stress, anxiety, or depression will likely result in some type of accident. When we feel these extreme emotions on the road, driving will not be the top priority–our feelings will. It then becomes a snowball effect where it affects not only you and the car you are in, but those around you, as well. You become a hazard at that point and a life can be at risk.

Whatever the reason for those emotions, maintaining a present and calm demeanor is needed when you are behind the wheel. When showing signs of depression or anxiety, seeking professional help will be the best way before driving yourself. Having the self awareness that you are not fit to drive is crucial. Learning self control and self discipline can apply to being self aware. Therapy and seeking other professional help can resolve this. If you are in a state of rage or anger, having another friend or family member drive instead is a better solution. In this time of age where we have multiple ways to be driven is another great way of reducing any risk factors for death while driving. Examples like Uber, Lyft, taxi rides, or even public transit not only reduce deaths related to driving, some of these can also reduce pollution!

I had an experience when I was five years old in a car accident that had stuck with me ever since. It wasn’t that I was physically in the car accident– I was the incident. A rusted brown van where the anxious driver was in a hurry to get back home to his family had become distracted for a few seconds. Not only was he speeding in a private neighborhood, but he had taken his eyes off the road for a bit. I happened to be running across the street at the time to meet my mother in our own car so she could take me to school. I, too, was distracted by the excitement of spending that morning with my Dad–who is rarely home by the time I wake up–and did not check both ways before crossing. One thing led to another and my parents immediately watched with horror as I was hit by that van. It happened within seconds. The last thing I could remember that day was the sight of the van before I was waking up with my back on the ground. It was a miracle that I was able to walk away from that accident with only a few scrapes and scratches! However, both that driver and I learned a valuable lesson that day–paying attention to the road, whether we are the driver or the pedestrian.

Since then, I have always checked both ways before crossing, staying alert for anything as a driver, driving the speed limit, and making sure I am mentally and emotionally able to be behind the wheel. The incident may have traumatized me for a bit growing up, but it sure did ingrain these lessons into my head. I have since done the same to my loved ones–instill the importance of driver education and mental health awareness. My story helped my loved ones cautiously educate their children. It also made them self aware when they drive. There are countless ways to help reduce the risk factors that correlate with death by driving. However, the main resolution is simple–it’s you. Everything begins with yourself! When you recognize signs that you are not fit to drive at that time, making the decision to step back may be the very reason you or someone else can live to see tomorrow. But it has to start with you.